White Houses
by Rose Garden Twilight
Summary: Slight AU- Follow Maya, Zay, Lucas, Riley and Farkle as they move into a vacation home for the summer and realize that life and relationships are a lot harder than they expected. Can the secrets be kept among the white walls? {Rucas, Joshaya/Markle}
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.- Second story up. This story idea wouldn't leave me alone, so you guys get two stories from me at once. This is mainly a Rucas story, there is some Joshaya/Markle in this as well. So warning this is starting at T but will be moving up to an "M" fic later on. Just so you know the gang is roughly 23/24 and juniors in college.**

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 **Crashed on the floor when I moved in** **  
** **This little bungalow alone with some strange new friends**

"No," Riley was starting to wonder how many times her best friend was going to ask her to come.

"Come on Riles, can't you just imagine, the ocean in front of you; all your troubles melt away? You need to unwind before your last year, otherwise it will affect your studies." her brows furrowed knowing that she was right to a certain extent. Riley had been having trouble sleeping recently and she figured that it was just stress related. Even when she visited her parents during the summer, it still seemed to follow her out of the dorm room.

"Is it really that obvious?" She thought she was hiding it well, but if Maya could pick on it there was a good chance that everyone else could to. She had to admit the picture that Maya painted sounded good right now, but she didn't want the blonde to pick up that she was caving.

"Maya, I don't know"-

"Alright fine Riles, I didn't want to do this, but ring power!" As the two aged they had both promised to only use ring power when they saw a dire situation for each other; in this case Maya saw that Riley needed to get away for a while.

"I hardly think this qualifies Maya," she scoffed, but Maya stood her ground.

"Ring power Riley." The brunette shifted the phone to the other ear, her resolve quickly fading.

"I'll pack my bags."

"I'll be there 15, there are a few things that I have to pick up from the store." Riley rolled her eyes and hung up the phone.

"Like she'll convince Dad to let me," She muttered. Sometime her best friend could be so stubborn but that was one of the traits that she loved about her. She grabbed the suitcase from her closet and opened it on her bed; she turned back to the closet her mind swirling on what to pack.

"Not going to happen." Riley had to smile at the Deja vu, she was her father's daughter after all.

"With all due respect Mr. Matthews, Riley needs this." Despite her height disadvantage, Maya stood her ground against the older gentleman. A silent conversation was had between the two of them in the form of a stare off, one which Maya ultimately won.

"Fine." The girls didn't know whether the tone was because he didn't like the idea of his daughter going on a vacation or the fact that he lost the argument to a 23-year-old.

"You know my rules Hart, no alcohol, no drugs, and no boys." Maya seemed unmoved by his requirements maybe because she already knew that she would break them anyway.

"And don't do any I wouldn't do." Maya crossed her arms in defiance.

"Shawn told me stories." The sentence was a threat to spill all the secrets that Shawn told her.

"Don't do anything that Topanga wouldn't do," he corrected himself. Riley ran and hugged each parent tightly and promised to stay in contact. Maya grabbed her suitcase knowing that if they waited too long Mr. Matthews may change his mind another time bringing them back to square one

"Freedom!" The blonde exclaimed climbing into her car.

Both girls hopped into the car and they were off to Farkle's vacation home. Maya had been bothering her for weeks about spending some time in the home because his parents offered. Maya told her that Farkle had some things that he had to accomplish before meeting us there.

At first, they blared the radio when the car hit the freeway, it was just one of those things that they felt like needed to be done. There was karaoke at the top of their lungs. Riley let out a laugh at how foolish they must look to other drivers, the only thing that stopped them was the line of commercials after the songs. Maya smiled at her best friend and then returned her eyes to the road.

"It's good to see you like that." Riley pushed some hair behind her ears looking anywhere but her friend.

"Like what?" She was hoping that if she ignored what Maya was insinuating then maybe the subject would be dropped completely.

"Happy, I haven't seen you that happy since"- Maya stopped midsentence sensing the slight awkwardness in the car, but unfortunately, Riley didn't need Mays to finish the statement to know what the blonde was going to say.

 _Since she was with Lucas._

It wasn't that things ended poorly with Lucas, because that's not how everything played out. It was their senior year and it seemed like the world wanted them apart. Between classes, other social circles they didn't have nearly as much time for each other. At first, they tried to make it work, but every encounter it seemed like there was this wedge between them and neither could figure out how to take it away. It was her idea to break up in the first place but it was Lucas who had told her that he needed time apart after a couple months of acting like nothing happened, but in truth he wasn't the only one thinking it, just the one brave enough to speak it. She gave him the time, in the back of her mind she always said that she would give him the space that he needed and he would come back. Because they were Lucas and Riley, and he had assured her so many times that by getting into a relationship it wouldn't destroy their friendship. But in the end, it seemed like it was a promise that Lucas couldn't keep, because he never came back.

They never forced their friend to choose between them, because that wasn't fair to either party. But regardless the group grew apart anyway. Zay slowly started not coming around to their gatherings, it was assumed that he was with Lucas. Riley had pushed down all the thoughts down, because she had at least her two best friends in the world. Farkle had went to another close by University so the trio could keep in touch, he had confessed that he still had contact with Lucas and Zay.

"Maya, we agreed." They promised each other that they wouldn't bring it up until Riley was ready to talk about it.

"I know, I just figured,"-

"If you are going to bring up him, then I get to bring up Josh." It was a low blow because she knew that was the last thing that Maya wanted to talk about. Maya huffed a 'never mind' and turned up the radio to try and ease the attention. Riley's gaze went out the window to the things that passed by. Maya had never opened up to what happened with Josh with anyone to Riley's knowledge. Whatever it was the tense whenever the two were in the same room, one of the two of them would have to leave. Josh wasn't much help on the issue either no matter how many times Riley had asked him. The constantly questioning only led to distance between her and her uncle.

After some time passed I the car, Riley decided that she couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry," the words sliced through the tension between the two. Maya threw her an apologetic smile, the two couldn't stay mad at each other for long.

"It's alright Riles." Her smile was pressed like at the very name of Josh it brought back memories. The two turned up the radio to fill the silence and at the next song the two were back to singing along.

The house was almost daunting as she got out of the car. Farkle's family sure knew how to pick a gorgeous house, compared to the surrounding homes it stuck out from the street in color and size. She could only imagine the stories and the secrets that the house had seen over the years.

"It was nice for Mr. Minkus to let us use the house over the summer." She closed the door of the car and picked up her suitcase.

"It's not like they were using it." Maya pulled out the key that she was given. The two headed towards the front door and with one quick motion the door swung open.

"Wow." Was the only word that they could manage walking in. There was a lot more windows and open spaces than Riley pictured. They put down the suitcase and ran up the stairs in a hurry wanting to lay claim on the best room before their third guest would arrive. Apparently the two girls though a like because they both ended up racing up into the same room; Riley slowed her pace when she saw the view. There was two that led to a balcony overlooking the ocean.

"Are you sure that it's ok that we stay here?" Maya jumped back onto the bed.

"Of course, I'm sure Riles, will you just relax already?"

"Why don't you go explore the house, I'm going to unpack everything." Riley opened her mouth to protest, but the blonde stopped her.

"No, Riles, you need this, I got it; I promise." Riley took her words to heart and nodded headed down the stairs. The rooms felt so open, Riley spun around and took it all in. The view was spectacular, so much so that it almost seemed to call her. Once her feet left the stairs it immediately hit the sand. The wind brushed the dune grass in the breeze. The ocean seemed to captivate her attention, one of the first things that was on her to do list.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The male voice caused her to jump and let out a gasp. She turned her head to see this guy standing there with his hands up in a defensive pose; he had brilliant blue eyes and a mop of brown hair on top of his head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you; my parents own the house next door, I thought it would be a total drag this summer with no one my age, then I just saw you standing there." His eyes sparkled and it was a mirror image to the sun shining on the sea.

"I'm Jordan, and you are?" She shook his hand with one hand while pushing the hair behind her ear with the other; it was a nervous habit of hers.

"Riley."

"Riley," he parroted like he was committing it to memory. A light tint of pink began to spread across her cheeks with the way he was looking at her, it made her stomach start to twist in knots; a feeling she hadn't felt in a while.

"My friends and I are staying up at his house for a couple weeks, kind of like a stay-cation."

"Well he's a lucky guy to have you in a paradise with such a beautiful girl."

"He's not my boyfriend," the words just flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, she didn't even know why she felt prompted to tell him the truth. Immediately she saw his body perk up at the information his blue eyes captured her own.

"Then maybe we can hang out sometime, you know so I won't lose my mind with just my parents."

"Sure." Her lips tucked up in a shy smile.

"Jordan!" His entire posture changed as he forced Riley to crouch down hiding her in the dune grass.

"I'm over here." He shouted

"It's time for lunch Jordan, come on inside." Even though Riley couldn't see her she had no issue hearing the over-the-top perky voice.

"Be there in a minute." He shouted and it seemed to be enough to appease the Mother as she returned inside.

"Sorry about that, I wait till we hang out at least once to meet my mother, she's a little intense." He held out a hand to help her out of the sand. Riley tucked the hair that had gotten displaced, her heart rate still beating from the slight adrenaline.

"She seems nice."

"Well if I don't go in then she'll come out and track me down, but I hope to see you soon." He started the trek back to his home, but not before turning back to Riley.

"Don't tuck your hair; you're much prettier with it flowing in the wind." His words caused a new shade of pink to spread.

The blush spread across her cheek at his flirting watching him head back inside. The words were touching, but it was not behavior that she was used to from guys, she spent most of her time in the student quad studying with headphones blocking out the noise. She was focused, and for that she was on track to graduate near the top of her class. She went on a date of two but nothing seemed to stick, eventually she concluded that she could focus on the male population after she got her career in place.

Her eyes drifted back to the ocean, the tide crashing against the shore and rolling back to the start and she felt peace flow through her system. She was glad that Maya had dragged her out here despite her initial protests; maybe taking the time over the summer was exactly what she needed. She headed back in the direction of the home seeking her best friend.

"Maya?" The house was so big, she could see why Farkle's family liked to stay here during the summer.

"Be down in a minute Riles." She heard the faint muffled voice of the blonde, knowing her she was probably changing in her bathing suit. Riley headed to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water to quench her thirst, only to be interrupted by the doorbell.

"I'll get it." The brunette shouted headed towards the door.

"Riley, wait, there's something that I need to tell you." The blonde's words did not deter her as she reached to open it for the guests.

"Farkle's not alone." But it was too late, Riley opened the doors and was met with a pair of haunting green eyes that she thought she would never see again. The breath left her lungs and she felt helpless just standing there looking foolish. All emotions that she desperately shoved down came flooding back overwhelming her rendering her speechless for a minute, but it was ok, because their eyes did all the talking. Riley finally found the courage to speak not knowing exactly where this bravery came from.

"Hello Lucas."

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 **A.N.- What's a first chapter without a cliffhanger? I already have the next chapter basically done, so I'm so excited for this story. Let me know what you think! Till next time.**


	2. Chapter2 Promise Each Other Till the End

**A.N.- First off I want to thank each and every one of you for all the support that I've gotten on this story and Shifting Tides, I am blown away. I hope to continue to meet your expectations in all of this. I won't keep you from the chapter.**

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 **Stay up too late, and I'm too thin**

 **We promise each other it's til the end**

"Hello Lucas."

She couldn't bring herself to move from the spot so she just blocked the entrance. It had been three years since she saw him last, and just having him in front of her was making her knees weak. She wondered what he had been up to all these years. She fought the urge to let her word vomit take over, because as much a she hated to admit it, seeing him was having an effect on her. This wasn't supposed to happen after all this time.

"Um," He coughed acknowledging the awkwardness. "Are you going to let us in?" A blush started to spread over her cheeks and she stepped to the side to the side. As he brushed past her and the familiar smell of his cologne brought back memories that she had buried a while ago. He always seemed to do this when they were together, he reminded me of the old times where they would fall asleep over the phone at late hours of the night just because neither wanted to stop the conversation.

"How have you been?" His voice brought her back to reality. She couldn't help herself getting lost in his emerald eyes. With him here it would make things a whole lot more complicated, she didn't know if she could trust herself around him.

"Good," surprisingly her response sounded normal enough not to bring even more attention to herself.

"I'm glad," Lucas forced his gaze elsewhere; it was enough to break the trance that he seemed to have over her. Riley coughed before turning her attention back to the other boys.

Her gaze shifted towards her other old friend that offered her a warm smile followed by a small embrace. Zay was one of those causalities from the break up that she wished she didn't have to suffer. Sure their friendship started because of Lucas, but that didn't mean that it had to stay that way. She understood why he stood with Lucas, it was any best friend's job to stand by their best friend and support them. She missed their talks that they had, he always seemed to listen to her and know exactly what to say when it came to the problems with Lucas.

He looked happy though, she was hoping that meant that he had a significant other out there and that he finally stopped hiding behind his humor to express his emotions. Zay hadn't really talked all that much about his love life to her throughout the years, her eyebrows tweaked downward slightly at the thought of being a bad friend. He was there for her all the time, she felt selfish for not returning the favor.

"Hey." The greeting was delayed but still appreciated on both sides. His lips tugged upward his gaze never leaving her.

"Hey Sugar, didn't know you were going to be here." Guilt flooded their system, of course they were in shock, and they didn't know she was going to be here, they probably thought that they were going to have this awesome guy's weekend. The fact that Maya and her were crashing in the home would make everything so much harder for them to partake in certain activities.

"I didn't know either," she finished lamely.

"Well I'm glad you're here." His words made her grin from ear to ear as they exchanged a silent thank you before turning her attention to their host for the next couple weeks.

"Hi," His blue eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight of her. If everything else was chaotic in her life one of the constants was that Farkle Minkus would be there for her. Out of everyone she knew the most of what was going on in the genius's life, but it was still difficult with the distance between them to keep caught up completely.

"Hi." She wished someone would have warned her how much effort you had to put into your friendships especially when there were miles separating them. Farkle received many late-night rants over the past couple years whenever something wrong save the subject of her love life; she spared Farkle that part of her life. If she was completely honest there wasn't much to tell. For the first year after they broke up she waited around because she was convinced that Lucas would fight for their relationship, for her; when he didn't that brought her down into a depression. Farkle had tried the best he could to help her out of it; between him and Maya they were able to lift her out of it after a couple months. It wasn't until then that she had made a solid choice to move on, if Lucas got over her, she could get past him.

"Thanks for letting us use your home." What kind of guest would she be if she wasn't grateful for the opportunity? She was expecting a month with her two best friends, with the other two here things would get messy fast; especially with how she reacted when she first saw Lucas.

"It's no problem Riley." She felt two other sets of eyes on her, and suddenly she felt like she was stripped of her clothes.

"We'll let you unpack," She said hastily grabbing Maya's hand and pulling her to a spot with some privacy.

"What were you possibly thinking Maya?" Riley hissed as soon as they were out of earshot from their new visitors. Just the sight of him made her stomach twist in knots and she wasn't sure in what way.

"I didn't know Farkle was going to invite him," she shot back. Riley didn't know whether to believe her or not considering Maya's history of meddling and scheming. It could have gotten to the point where Maya could lie to her face and she wouldn't be able to pick up on the signs. It was hard to believe that Maya had no influence in this meddling, but without any proof it would be a moot point. She let out a sigh her hands falling over her face, but as soon as she closed her eyes an image of the haunting green eyes. If this is what happened when they had spent five minutes together, what would half the summer feel like?

"Maya I can't do this." All the muscles in her body were tense at the thought of spending a couple months with Lucas.

"No!" Maya replied almost too quickly which lay doubt to how much Maya was involved in all of this. Riley's hand fell to her hip matched with a frown on her face. Of course it would be easy for her to say, it wasn't like Josh was staying with them.

"Riley, you need this. You can't let Ranger Rick ruin this fun time with you; I have so many fun things planned for us to do. The boys are sleeping downstairs, and I will be right by your side the whole time you will barely notice him there." Riley didn't exactly believe her best friend, but she did take comfort in the promise that she would be there, if Maya was around there would be less opportunities for her mind to get in the way of having fun.

"Alright, I'll stay," The blonde smiled and gave her a tight squeeze.

"But I have the right to change my mind," She pointed a finger at Maya there was no way she would commit to the good part of the summer on the first day.

"Deal." Maya bumped her shoulder playfully.

"Do you want to change and go down to the ocean?" The idea of playing with the water was something that Riley could get behind as she eagerly agreed.

* * *

"Watch the shirt man, it's one of nicest ones," Zay cried as Lucas pushed him to the side out of earshot of any curious minds.

"Is this some sick joke, did you know that she was going to be here?" He had to keep his temper under control, but he felt rather foolish that he didn't know that she would be there. Zay held up his hands in surrender a look of genuine surprise adorned his face.

"No I didn't," his voice trailed off his gaze was on Riley. "If I did know, I would at least have taken some enjoyment of the shock on your face when she opened the door." Lucas's face hardened at his words. His eyes stared at the brunette watching her move, it was like she hadn't aged a day since the last time he saw her. Three years he reminded himself, it had been three years since he saw her last.

"Time was sure on generous to Miss Matthews." Zay said noticing Lucas staring at his ex. His comment earned him a punch in the arm and a glare from his best friend. He mumbled ouch while nurturing his arm.

"What's the big deal Lucas, don't think you can handle the space with her?" Zay teased tip toeing towards the line close to going too far.

"I can handle it." Lucas snapped back trying to protect his pride, but his gaze didn't waiver. The questions started racing through his mind wondering if he was the last to know. Did Riley know that he would be there? Her face seemed shocked when she opened the door, but after that she was cool and collected like he was a stranger.

"Yeah, you and Riley in close quarters for half of the summer, what could possibly go wrong?" Lucas rolled his eyes and bumped shoulders grabbing the suitcase by the door.

"Let's settle in, you better not snore," He grumbled completely avoiding Zay's last comment; Zay's smile only grew as he followed him to one of the downstairs room. Something told him that this summer was interesting and as the days passed the secrets that were in this house was bound to bubble up to the surface.

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Maya bounded down the stairs in the quest of food. The girls had opted for a night in watching a movie upstairs where none of the male's species were allowed. She got the popcorn out and put it in the microwave. The rest of the day had rolled on by, the girls had gone down to the beach for a couple hours spending time in the waves and improving their tan. Maya had managed to catch Lucas staring at Riley and then he adverted his gaze quickly when he realized that she had caught him. A coy smile escaped her lips; maybe the summer would be easier than she thought. Her crystal eyes were fixated on the counting down of the microwave, when suddenly she was spun around a hand clasped over her mouth to muffle any sound before being dragged into the pantry. She was released to see her captor; Farkle.

"What the- Farkle?" The tighter space had them standing right in front of each other, and she had to look up to see him.

"Care to explain why Riley chewed me out earlier for bringing Lucas here?" He crossed his arms across his chest with an unamused expression resting on his face. Maya let out a weak laugh preluding her response.

"Might have told her that it was your idea to bring him," normally she would try and work her way out of these things, but when it came to Farkle it seemed like she could always tell him the truth.

"I don't know why I even thought that this plan would work, I just thought that maybe if they were put in the same room…" He started to pace the space area further back in the pantry. "Then they would have to talk and both of them would work through this funk that they seem to be in. Maybe we should call"- He was the one to be silenced when Maya grabbed his shirt and hoisted him closer to her in the manner that she had done over the years almost as if it was instinct.

The surprise was when she felt her breath hitch when he was right there in front of her his blue eyes staring right back at her. She watched as his eyes flickered down to her mouth only for a split second. Last time they were in this position he had kissed her on the cheek, afterwards both had ignored the situation and hoped that it went away. She instantly released him as the memory played again in her mind, she could have sworn that she saw disappointment sink into his features although it could be attributed to the dim light.

"We are not calling it off; just give it a couple days. It didn't even take a day for me to catch Huckleberry staring at her." His eyes widened by the news.

"I'll push her towards talking to him, but you know what Riley is like. It has to be done little bits at a time, or you have to make them think it's their idea." He nodded the silence settling between them. Maya wasn't quite sure if it was the silence was bothering her or the way that he was looking at her that set her stomach at unease.

"I better go, if I'm gone too long then Riley would come looking for me." She rushed out of the confined space. The kitchen island caught her fall, but when she looked up Zay was eating her popcorn. Farkle placed his hand on her back and asked if she was ok. Maya's eyes narrowed at the guy who was still munching on her snack. He let out a small chuckle.

"You dog," he teased towards Farkle before walking away to the living room, it seemed like the boys were having a movie night of their own.

"I'm going to kill him." Farkle was able to grab her arms before she could go charging after him.

"I'll make you some more popcorn." He offered which seemed to put the girl at ease despite the glare that she threw at the other room.

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Riley paced back and forth trying not to wake Maya in the next room over. After a full movie and the start of another she found that her best friend had fallen asleep so she clicked off the television, tucked Maya into her bed and then returned into her own room. She had trouble sleeping lately because her mind wouldn't shut off.

The upcoming school year was daunting enough without the other pressures in her life. She needed to start looking for a career and then from there, who knows what would happen; deep down that was the part that probably frightened her the most. She thanked God that she had Maya throughout the years because otherwise she didn't know what she would have done. Riley made her way over to the bay window to sit down; the window no matter whether it was in her home, college or anywhere else in the world always seemed to provide her comfort.

And then there was the love life or lack thereof one. After Maya and Farkle had talked some sense into her about waiting around for Lucas, she had tried. She went on a couple dates, but everyone that she went out with in some way she compared them to Lucas. She told herself that it was just a phase and it would go away, but the behavior continued to the point where she just gave up. Instead of continuing the pointless quest she threw herself into her studies. It was easier to focus on something that she knew wouldn't disappoint her. Deep down she knew that bottling her feelings wouldn't get her anywhere in the long run, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about what happened just yet.

"Can't sleep?" Maya's voice caught her off guard as she joined her in the makeshift bay window.

"Yeah," Riley replied in a soft tone. She wasn't about to tell her friend that it was Lucas related, that would just open up the subject for more discussion. Riley was just convinced that it was because she saw him that day, it would fade in time, there was no point talking about it before then.

"Want to talk about it?" There wasn't much that the girls were able to keep from one another that included when they knew something was wrong.

"I think something is wrong with me." Her statement caught the blonde by surprised, but Riley remained stone faced her eyes on the ocean.

"What do you mean Riles?" Maya's eyes brows were knitted together in concern, she was just hoping that Riley wasn't getting sick.

"What if I never got over Lucas, I mean I thought I did, but" She hesitated in speaking which caused concern to grow for her best friend. "But the second he came in it was like we were back in high school again."

"His still makes your heart go clippety-clop?" Maya muttered under her breath which caused Riley's eyes to snap to hers in confusion.  
"What?"  
"Nothing," Maya said quickly, hoping that she would drop the subject matter. She let out a sigh, she could tell that her best friend was having this internal struggle and she hated it. "There's nothing wrong with you Riley, I don't know what the deal with you and Ranger Rick is, but it's the perfect time to figure it out. I'll be right here with you when you do." The girls smiled at each other, if nothing else they at least had one another over the years and that was enough.

"Promise?" They exchanged a hug and Riley rested her chin on Maya's shoulder.

"Promise," Maya replied with a smile. It was enough to reassure Riley as she lay down with her head in the blonde's lap. Maya started to stroke her hair until the brunette's eyes grew tired. Sleep claimed her and between the sight of Riley's body rising and falling and the waves coming in and out of the shore.

"Everything will be ok Little Plant." It wasn't long there after that Maya rested her head back against the wall as sleep sent her into her own dreams.

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 **A.N.- Rucas, a hint of Markle and Zay just being Zay. I'm also doing a shameless plug for my Instagram account ( . ). Going to be posting spoilers on there before the next chapter so check me out. Love you all so much and thank you for reading, let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3 Spinning Empty Bottles

**A.N.- hey guys, I'm updating early and here's why. I'm not going to post the next chapter till the first week in January, I think it's important to enjoy the Holidays with family and loved ones. I'll be back in 2017 and hope you continue on with me.**

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 **Now we're spinning empty bottles**  
 **It's the five of us**

The rain was a blessing and a curse at the same time, Riley supposed. She was curled up on the couch watching the rainstorm outside. The weather wrecked Maya's plans to have a bonfire on the beach, but now that would have to wait for another night. The direct result was trapping five college students in the house for the night, it made for some restless bodies looking for some form of entertainment.

"Riles." The Brunette's nature light show was distracted as the blonde laid across her lap. Riley's brown eyes peered down at her best friend. It was a good thing that they did manage to get to the beach in the morning otherwise the restless behavior would be even worse.

"Want to watch a movie?" She started to stroke the blonde's hair in a maternal way, but Maya shook her head disrupting the motion to answer. It was worth a shot to appeal her Riley decided; usually when Maya's mind got bored it came up with ideas that tended to lead to trouble. She twitched her mouth as her mind raced looking for ideas; Maya's eyes suddenly lit up as she jumped from her seat.

"Gather the boys." It was an order as she ran into the kitchen. Riley sighed leaving her form of entertainment in the evening. She walked into their territory and instantly felt all eyes on her.

"Maya wants us all to meet in the living room." She was met with questioning looks and she shrugged with response, she didn't know what else to tell them. She turned and walked back to the room with the boys following close behind.

They assembled in a circle on the floor prepared for anything that was thrown at them. Maya entered the room looking like the cat that ate the canary. She held up shot glasses and alcohol.

"Peaches?" Riley said in a questioning tone.

"Just trust me Riles. It was a game that I learned at NYU."

"How does it work?" Zay question his interest peeked at what Maya was learning at University.

"The game is called Questions. Questions is sort of like Truth or Dare but without the dare. Each player takes a turn being the questioner, they spin the bottle and whoever it lands on they pose a yes/no question, which they must answer without hesitation. That person then becomes the questioner and spins the bottle to get to question the next person immediately. Repeating questions are not allowed. Laughing before answering or asking is not allowed. Any violation of these rules is punished, obviously, with taking a shot." Riley bit her lip unsure if this was the best game they should be playing, but the boys agreed partly out of boredom. Being outvoted Riley hesitantly nodded as well.

"I'll start," Zay announced grabbing the bottle from Maya's hands. The bottle spun while all eyes were on the object; it stopped on Riley. Zay's smirk grew as he came up with a question.

"Riley what was your worst kiss, was it Lucas? I need another Lucas story to add to my collection." He earned an elbow to his arm causing him to wince. There was an awkward silence as the question hung in the air, a light blush spread across her cheeks. Her eyes were glued to the alcohol, she didn't really want to take the shot; so, that put her in between a rock and a hard place. She muttered under her breath hoping that the others wouldn't cause her to repeat it.

"Can you repeat that Miss Matthews?" Zay teased.

"No, it was Charlie." Her answers left lots of agape mouths in surprise.

"What?" Maya stuttered, she was surprised that her best friend hadn't shared that tidbit with her. Farkle caught Lucas's fists clenched and his lips lifted into a small smile.

"Can we just keep going?" She snapped eager to get the attention from herself.

"You are so dishing later," Maya teased.

The bottle landed on Farkle and her mind started to run over possible questions that she could ask. Farkle's blue eyes connected with her brown ones. There was something that she couldn't shake.

"What happened with Isadora and you?"

"Uh Riles, that's not a yes or no"-

"It's fine Maya." Farkle cut her off never disconnecting his gaze as Maya held her hands up giving up the argument that wasn't how the game was played.

"Isadora and I both concluded that our relationship became stagnant and it was best to go our separate ways. We tried to stay friends." Riley's eyes flickered over to Lucas only for a second. "And then she got another boyfriend, and I tried to be supportive, but I didn't want to be her friend. I was waiting until I realized I can't wait around." Farkle caught of Lucas sneak a look at Riley and was more convinced that Maya was right and this plan was working. " I couldn't sit around hoping that she would just pick me, so sometimes the best course of action was to let her go." It was a different kind of feeling to bare his soul in front of the group of friends.

His wrist whipped the bottle into another spiral awaiting its next victim of fate. His eyes jumped to Maya and never left her crystal orbs as it stopped on the blonde. He knew exactly what he had planned on asking her just because his curiosity had been building over the last couple months that Riley had talked about it.

"Did Josh break up with you?" No sooner as he got the question out Maya reached out, grabbed the shot, and threw her head back letting the liquid roll down her throat. With her experience in college she was used to the burning sensation.

"Any other questions?" She snapped. Riley winced at her temporary harshness; there must have been a serious fall out between the two to get this kind of reaction.

When Lucas was the next one the bottle chose a devilish played her lips and suddenly he was nervous of what she was capable of.

"Alright Ranger Rick since everyone else is airing their dirty laundry, yes or no." She drew out her words in a playful fashion.

"There's no way that Riley and you weren't like rabbits, because I gag just watching you two in high school, but was Riley your only lover?"

"Maya!" Riley was horrified hoping that Lucas would look anywhere but her as the red color spread across her cheeks like wildfire. If he were to answer Maya in complete honesty they had never been intimate; sure, they had gotten close a couple times, but the timing was never right and then they broke up. She wanted her first time to be with someone she trusted; someone who knew her; needless to say, none of the guys that she saw after Lucas fit the bill.

"What? It's not like there's any chance you two will get back together is there Huckleberry?" She pointed at him. She recognized that maybe this wasn't the best way to go about this, but she was good at pushing people.

Lucas quickly reached for a shot without glancing at anyone which earned a couple "ooo's" from his friends. His features became rock hard not amused by the game anymore. Maya's words stuck in the brunette's mind and overtook it. Was she that obvious that he had an effect on her, was he just cordial towards her out of pity?

"Just spin the bottle." Lucas grumbled haughtily. When he heard Zay groaned he didn't need to see where it stopped to know who he had landed on. She felt her mind on a loop bringing her down to a dangerous place, and she knew she needed to clear her mind.

"I have to go." She stood up too quickly and dizziness made her stumble a few steps before she reoriented.

"Riley."- Lucas called out, but she didn't care. She needed space from everyone including Lucas. All eyes were on where Riley left everyone in shock of what just happened.

Suddenly the silence began unbearable and Lucas couldn't ignore the boiling of his blood anymore.

"You never learned when to quit did you," Lucas hissed at the blonde no longer being able to hold back. He stood up ignoring all the eyes on him, he only had one thing on his mind, to find Riley.

The cooler air from the rain hit his body as he headed out the door rapidly. There was so much ground to cover, she could have escaped in so many directions he didn't even know where to begin.

It was part his fault as much as he would hate to admit it; he could sense her becoming uncomfortable as the game continued, but did nothing to stop it. He didn't know why he did nothing, maybe he didn't think he knew her well enough; she had seemed to change so much since high school.

He hit the beach first thinking that it would be the best place to start to cover the ground. It turned out that he was lucky trust his gut, because as he climbed a nearby mound of sand dunes he saw Riley's figure almost hidden among the grass. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Now that he found her the next question was what was he going to say?

He pushed down his insecurity and with his hands shoved in his pockets he carefully strolled towards her. She looked up to acknowledge his presence, only to have them return to the sand.

"Can I sit here?" He asked cautiously not wanting to upset her further.

"What do you want Lucas?"

"Just to talk, we used to be good at it." He replied taking his place next to her in the cold sand.

"Just to talk, we used to be good at it." He replied taking his place next to her in the cold sand. The two sat quietly in the sand for a couple minutes neither saying a word. Both of them felt a sense of calm wash over their high alert senses to each other's presence. Riley was the one brave enough to break the silence.

"Why did you come out here Lucas?" His eyes jumped to her and softened the anger that was still being held towards Maya for making her feel so uncomfortable.

"I- I just wanted to make sure that you're ok."

"Well you've come to check on me and I'm fine, so you can go now." His brows furrowed at her statement.

"But you're not fine." He urged, he could sense that not everything was not well in Rileytown. Her eyes stayed glued to the sand not liking how he could see through her little charade, but she didn't want to talk about it so they sat void of talking instead.

"I'm sorry that Maya went too far." Riley didn't respond right away to his apology. Maya had always had a knack for taking things way past what she should, but despite her shortcomings Riley had always loved her anyway.

"It's fine." All the emotion was void from her voice, she was hoping that they could sweep everything under the rug but as everything happened she was finding it harder and harder to believe that would happen. Lucas slammed his hands down on his knees in slight frustration.

"No, it's not fine Riley, she crossed the line. No one should ever make you feel like that"- He stopped himself when he realized that he was getting fired up. Instead of getting upset, Riley just let out a small laugh.

"You haven't changed." Something about that got under his skin; he would like to believed that he had grown over the past couple years, but one look from her and it seemed like she could always figure him out.

"You too." Her mouth opened in feign shock.

"I have not." She playfully hit his shoulder letting her guard down. The fact that he stayed this long meant something, it had to.

"Tell me that you don't just sneak into your room when no one is watching and watch reruns of Cuddle Bunnies." He teased causing a blush spread across her cheek.

"Shut up," and both broke into a small laughter fit. It was like her favorite t-shirt that she was so used to wearing it was like second nature to slip on. A comfortable silence fell between the two for what seemed to be the umpteenth time between them; almost as if no words needed to be said for the other to know that they both missed each other more than they were willing to admit.

"What happened Riles?" His voice was so soft that she almost missed it. It had been a long time since she called him Riles, but it still made her heart quicken as she finally turned and faced him.

Riley's eyes seemed to catch any light in the surrounding area looking at the boy that she had known for what it seemed like ever. Both of their skins had goose bumps on them as they realized their proximity to each other. His fingers reached out to brush some hair that had fallen into her face to push it behind her ear. The simple gesture brought back sweet memories that seemed to be on a repeat in her mind on a loop. It led her to questioning of why they didn't work out in the first place there had to be a reason, but high school seemed like such a happier time.

"Lucas," his name escaped in just a whisper his emerald eyes look so inviting. Both heads leaned in ever so slightly like gravity was pulling them towards one another. Their breaths intermingled and her eyes fluttered closed as his lips grazed hers. It was an old feeling that stirred her stomach. He pulled away for a brief moment only to return to her lips again craving more of Riley Matthews. Both of his hands wandered his fingers into the territory of her brown curly locks.

Reality of her situation finally sunk in and she suddenly pulled away her eyes widened and her hand flew up to her mouth.

"Riley"-

"I shouldn't have done that." Her head was spinning and the only thing she could think that would help was distance. She ran back to the home ignoring Lucas calling out her name. She didn't care if the door slammed drawing the rest of her friend's attention. Water started to cloud her vision but she made it up the stairs. She closed the door and slid down against it. What in the world was she thinking kissing Lucas like that? But the question that ran through her mind the most was what would happen now?

* * *

 **A.N.- So that's a place to end it, and I'm sorry about that, but hopefully the moment was worth it. Again I'll say that my Instagram will have spoilers over the break so check it out. Till 2017, you all stay as awesome as ever.**


	4. Chapter 4 Can't Resist the Day

**A.n.- So I decided to update a day early. Thank you all for the support you've given and I'm excited to continue the story. Shifting Tides should be updated this weekend/early this week. Enjoy**

* * *

 **With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust** **  
** **I can't resist the day** **  
** **No, I can't resist the day**

Maya mentally prepared herself as she walked towards Riley's door. She knew that something had upset her friend besides the words that had been said, and she was willing to bet almost anything that it was something Ranger Rick did. She should have warned him about going after her, but she knew that he wouldn't have listened to her anyway. She took a breath and brought herself to knock for once facing the problem in front of her instead of running. At first, she got no answer and panic set in as she didn't hear anything on the other side. Had Riley already run away? She knocked again and after a long second, she heard Riley hold back a crying sob.

"Riles." She said carefully not wanting to upset her further. The door was locked, something must have really happened between the two of them.

"Riley, let me in. I screwed up, but-" She stopped herself and rested her forehead on the door. "Talk to me, we've always been able to work things out. Don't go whatever this is alone." As much as Maya loved Riley, she also knew one of her flaws one was that if something was wrong she wouldn't tell anyone and bottle it up thinking that it would just be a burden for those around her. There was silence between the two of them and for once in her life, Maya didn't know what else to do. The door clicked open and revealed a Riley with puffy eyes from crying. The first thing that Maya did was to throw her arms around her in a tight hug before walking back and sat on Riley's bed.

"Riley, what happened between you and Huckleberry?" She needed to know how much she needed to go down stairs and hurt the blonde; Riley shook her head in response.

"That doesn't matter Maya." She refused to tell her that they kissed, that would make everything so much complicated and she would just lecture her about not sticking to the plan.

"Riles, I'm sorry." Even though she had a little more than her usual limit she could tell that she went too far with how upset she was.

"Just sit with me Maya." The blonde nodded and rested her head on her shoulder. She knew that Maya had said some things but right now she needed someone in her corner and Maya was the only one who could really be that person for her right now.

* * *

"So, admit it, this was all a plan for bringing Lucas and Riley back together." Zay gave one of his signature grins as he flipped the bacon. Farkle oversaw the waffles who just shook his head at his question.

"Shouldn't you be more focused on your own love life Zay?" Farkle wanted to tell him, but Zay had a hard time keeping secrets, he just likes other people's stories too much.

"That's not an answer," He pointed in a teasing fashion.

"How was everything with Vanessa anyway?" Zay shrugged trying to not let his emotions show through on how he felt about the relationship.

"We did the whole on again off again thing for the last couple years and then we decided that we should just quit while we were ahead." This was new information for the genius and it made sense why Zay was so off in the car when certain topics were brought up, it reminded him of her.

"So, no one new in the love life of Zay?" Farkle teased as he pulled a waffle off the maker.

"No." He let out a sigh. Vanessa had left him a mess and he decided to take some time off to work on him before getting into another relationship. It had been a year and he felt he was finally ready to get in the game again.

"Morning, Farkle where is coffee?" Maya yawned stretching her limber body not fully awake to care about being down in her pajamas.

"I'll make you some." Maya's lips spread into a satisfied smile.

"Thank you Farkle, you're the best." She went into the walk-in pantry to fetch something for breakfast.

"Are we going to talk about the fact that I walked in on you two in there the other day?"

"Nothing happened." Farkle snapped defensively.

"You can't tell me that you don't have feelings for"- His mouth was suddenly clamped over by Farkle's hand silencing him. They exchanged eye contact and that was all the answer that Zay needed.

"Dude, how long have you liked her?" Another waffle was used as a distraction to avoid the question until Zay pressed again.

"A year." He snapped under pressure. "Maya and I hung out a lot when we were first figuring out what to do with Riley. With the increased time spent together they just grew, but you can't tell her."

"Can't tell me what?" Both boys spun around to see Maya exiting the pantry with fruit in hand.

"Zay drank the last of the coffee so I'll have to make another pot. Maya simply shrugged and made her way to the table prepping for the massive amount of food coming her way. It was enough to cover the lie, Maya didn't question his statement and for the moment he was safe.

In a couple minutes Farkle handed her a fresh cup of coffee brewed and the two of them exchanged smiles.

"So how awkward will they be this morning on a scale of one to ten after last night?" Zay chirped before taking a sip of his coffee waiting for the bacon to be ready.

"Why would it be awkward?" Farkle asked as he poured in the batter.

"Because they kissed last night," he did gain some pleasure watching Maya spit out her coffee in surprise. He looked between the two of them and his shock only grew when both had their mouths hanging open.

"Oh, so you didn't know." He regretted saying anything, and now he would either get hounded by questions from Maya or pounded by Lucas later; he wasn't sure which one he was more afraid of.

"How do you know this?" Maya's shortness only added to her intimidation factor especially when she was on a mission.

"Through my keen observations skills?" He joked lightly hoping that they would let this go.

"Zay"- Maya had used her threatening tone and everyone knew what that meant, if he didn't cooperate then things would go very badly for him over the next couple days.

"Lucas told me," he blurted out. The room relaxed somewhat everyone processing the information. Zay's eyebrows knitted together in almost concern.

"Riley didn't tell you?" Maya's mood had done a one eighty to a slightly hurt one. She flopped back down on the chair by the table.

"No, she's didn't."

* * *

Riley rushed downstairs following the scent of bacon her stomach growling. Maya and her had spent hours staying up and talking, she wouldn't be surprised if her best friend was still sleeping in her bed. She vaguely heard Zay and Farkle's voices, and it caused her to smile. She didn't know that they could cook, she made a mental note to take advantage of that in the future. The voices grew louder until she rounded the corner and ran straight into emerald eyes. His hands reached out to brace her so she wouldn't fall but the feeling of his fingers on her skin brought electricity flowing through her veins. Her chocolate eyes jumped up and instantly were captured by his emerald ones. This was bringing her back to last night not being able to forget the feeling of his lips on hers; just the thought made her subconsciously lick her lips.

His eyes seemed to watch every move, when her tongue ran over her dry lips he felt his body tense, and it took everything not to grab her connecting their lips once more. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her. The memories of the two of them and all the good times they shared were etched in his mind and he wasn't sure they would ever fade away.

The fact that she ran away the other night would suggest that she wasn't ready for anything anytime soon. It was almost as he spooked her and he didn't know why. If her feelings were still there then wouldn't she act differently?

"Hi." He felt the words fall out of his mouth before he could stop it. He was met with searching eyes in front of him.

"Hey." Her voice was timid. The words were on his tongue to finish their habit, but it was interrupted with waffles being shoved in his face.

"Hi," Zay handed each of them a plate with a cheeky grin. "Maybe you two would like to join the rest of us for breakfast." Both had a blush that straight across their cheek and they stepped away from each other breaking the connection that they had. Riley turned and Maya was already at the table with a knowing smirk on her lips. The rest of the four of them retreated to the table as they all sat down. Zay was at the end of the table, Farkle and Lucas on one side of the table while Riley had taken the seat next to her best friend. There was a momentary silence while they all enjoyed the waffles. Riley didn't want to dwell on what just happened with Lucas.

"What's on the agenda today Maya?" She knew that she needed a distraction.

"Going to the main beach." She answered shortly not letting her friend out of this so easily, she couldn't just hide from Lucas the rest of the summer for her plan to work. The rest of the breakfast was filled with bits and pieces of small talk here or there, but Riley didn't notice. She felt Lucas's eyes bore into her without looking up at him.

* * *

The beach met them with open arms filled with people. Each of the five carried something vital for their beach trip from blankets for everyone to the cooler filled with snacks and refreshments. Maya watched as Lucas started to fidget, which meant he was thinking things over and by the way he was looking at Riley she had to think it was about the brunette.

"Riles, come on let's go down to the water." They joined hands and raced down to the water leaving the boys behind. The water felt so refreshing against the sun beating down on them. After playing in the water for twenty minutes before coming back ashore.

"Come on let's get ice cream," her blue eyes followed to a vendor nearby.

Maya giggled as she grabbed Riley's hand and ran off in the direction on the food cart to get ice cream to cool off from the heat of summer. In line that seemed to stretch out forever of people of like mind trying to beat the heat. Riley turned to her best friend and grinned.

"Tell me what to order." It was a game that the two of them invented to past the time. One would take turns guessing what the person would order. The game would end when they got to the front of the line and they would order for each other.

"Chocolate covered vanilla bar." Maya's nose wrinkled not feeling the brunette's choice and shook her head.

"Mango pop."

"I got that last time." Riley switched around her choices not to make it too easy for the blonde. The girls sat in a silence both minds trying to come up with answers.

"I got it!" Riley exclaimed with a wide grin as if she knew the answer to win a game show.

"A chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich." The corners of Maya's lips twisted up into a smile and Riley knew that she had nailed it.

"I'll consider it." it was closer to the answer of yes than anything before.

"For you"- She paused thinking it through, but was interrupted.

"Chocolate soft serve ice cream in a waffle cone," Riley's eyes jumped to the owner of the voice. The blue eyes met hers with a warmth and she felt herself smile. She didn't expect to see him, especially at the public beach since their house's backyard was at the ocean.

"You." She replied in surprise.

"Me." He captured her attention and it was only broken by Maya coughing to break it up.

"My name is Maya." She held out her hand determined not to be the third wheel in this situation.

"Jordan." He shook her hand before stealing another glance in Riley's direction.

"So how do you two know each other?" A blush started to spread at her best friend's tone, she knew her well enough to know what she was insinuating.

"Jordan's parents own the condo next to ours, we met a couple days ago," one eyebrow rose on the blonde's face as her mind was processing what happened in front of her.

"Why do you think that Riley wants a chocolate soft serve in a waffle cone?" She turned her full attention to Jordan.

"It's something that everyone likes, it's very classic and if has a little crunch which likes to surprise people." Riley bit her lip listening to his answer because she had never heard someone describe her like that; even more so chocolate ice cream sounded good in the current moment.

The sound of girl's giggles filled the air which normally the blonde would push off but there was a laughter that he would recognize anywhere mostly because he was the cause of it. His eyes scanned the beach and realized that he had lost sight of Riley and Maya. His blood started pumping with concern to where they went. He would be dead if he had to explain to Mr. Matthews that he lost Riley on the beach. His fists clenched when his eyes finally found them and there was a guy that he didn't recognize was talking to them.

He knew that he had no right to be jealous, Riley wasn't his but any means; she could talk to whoever you want. The sight still caused his stomach to twist in knots. He had thought that there was something between them there last night when they kissed and once again this morning when they met in the kitchen.

What if she didn't? The little voice inside him whispered doubt. After they had kissed it had stirred the feelings that he had pushed down a long time ago causing them to awaken. But if she didn't feel the same, then this whole thing would blow up in his face sooner or later.

"Whoa Luke, what's wrong with you?" Zay's eyes followed his line of sight till it hit Riley. He couldn't say that he was surprised; of course, it always came back to Riley it always does.

"Nothing."

"You got to let it out man, there aren't any trees to kick around here." Zay had a point, but Lucas didn't want to tell him about the events that happened the previous night that lead to the awkwardness in the kitchen this morning.

"She can talk to whomever she wants." He countered grumpily trying not to let his bitterness through.

"Whatever you say man." Zay let out a little laugh not believing him for one second.

Riley pushed her hair behind her ear in a nervous fashion, Jordan's eyes hadn't left hers the time that he had hopped in on Maya and Riley's game.

"So, there's this party that sounded pretty cool and I was wondering if you wanted to go?" She stood there dumbfounded at his request. She barely knew the guy, so her gut would normally scream to say no.

Her eyes drifted and saw Lucas and Zay staring at the three of them from the distance. Lucas didn't look particularly happy, but she couldn't let him dictate her choices. Maya was right, she had to take some risk.

"Sure." Her answer brought a smile to his lips.

"I'll get you the address," He ran off leaving the two standing there.

"Next," the two turned towards the vendor calling for their order. Riley strolled up to the stand a new confidence flowing over her.

"Chocolate soft serve in a waffle cone please."

* * *

 **A.N.- Things are starting to get really interesting. Please let me know what you think. Till next time!**


	5. Chapter 5 It's No Pose

**A.N.- Sorry this is a day late, I was super busy this week so I barely had time to write. Here's the next chapter. You are are the most amazing readers ever and I am so grateful.**

* * *

 **Jenny screams out and it's no pose**  
 **Cause when she dances she goes and goes**  
 **And beer through the nose on an inside joke**

"Is this a good idea Maya, I mean we hardly know the guy." Riley finished curling the last section of hair, but the whole time her mind was going back and forth of whether she should chicken out and stay home.

"Oh, course it is!" Maya exclaimed from the other room after completing her make up.

"He invited us, we said yes, now it would be rude to cancel." The brunette had a hunch that wasn't the only reason that Maya wanted to go.

She chided herself knowing that Maya shouldn't be the only one that wanted to go. Jordan would be there and he had only one who had made her feel like Lucas used to. Lucas, she pushed down all the happy memories that were threatening to boil up. If he had wanted to fight after her he should have chased her after the kiss. The fact that he didn't just meant that not much had changed.

"I guess you're right." Her response wasn't as enthusiastic as she would like, but she thought she got some effort for trying.

"That's the spirit." Maya exclaiming making up for the lack of excitement. She came up behind Riley and rested her chin on the brunette's shoulder.

"You look beautiful and going to knock the socks off that Jordan kid." She paused letting her smile grow wider.

"He likes you, you know." Riley whipped around in her chair. How could she possibly know that?

"How do you know?" It was one thing to have multiple meetings together and observe but Maya had watched them interact for all of five minutes.

"I can just tell. It was in his eyes." She joked. If Maya was right that made the butterflies flair up in her stomach once more. This was maybe something more and would give her a chance to finally move on from Lucas and she could forget about that kiss.

* * *

The only thing that overwhelmed the loud noises exuding from the home was the stench of alcohol. The brunette made sure that she followed behind Maya closely not wanting to get lost in the sea of strangers. Riley had never really been big in the party scene, no matter what she did she always seemed to stick out like a sore thumb while Maya was go with the flow with the concoctions of drinks; she was jealous of her in that way. The crowd seemed to be pressing the two girls closer together as they pushed through which made it impossible to make sure no wandering hands go places they shouldn't.

"Is this great?" Maya shouted competing with the music but not much avail. Her Cheshire grin grew wider as she took in the sights and sounds while Riley's lips twisted downward. She would rather be somewhere quiet and reading a book. Maya had only ever managed to convince her to come to one to two parties during their freshman year and that was plenty for her.

"That's not what I would call it," She replied without much gusto. The crowd burst into loud cheers as a girl that had not seen sober for at least an hour had gotten up on the table and started to dance. Riley had been only to a couple of parties, but despite that she had never seen anyone this far gone and wondered if there were drugs in play. Someone should be helping her down and not cheering on this behavior.

"Is anyone going to do something?" Disgust ringing through her voice at the hoots and howls. Maya grabbed a shot off the counter in response.

"Come on Riles, you need to relax," The drink was offered, it took a couple minutes of persistence on behalf of the blonde but the alcohol slid down Riley's throat sending her into a coughing fit. If it was something that she wasn't used to; the burning sensation in her mouth. It was all she needed to have the courage to approach the girl that was dancing on the table, maybe with any luck she would be able to convince her to get down before she got hurt. Before she could even get close a pair of attractive guys stepped in front with dazzling smiles and surely with only certain things on their mind.

"Hey, I haven't I've seen you before in Mr. Robinson's class." Clearly, they were mistaken, but every time Riley went to correct them, the words would not leave her lips. Thankfully her best friend came to her rescue.

"Maybe you have," Maya answered in a flirty manner the boys obviously caught her eye too. Maya was always more comfortable in these kinds of situations, and why wouldn't she be; she grew up to be a knockout. If anyone to ask Riley who was more attractive, she would answer with her best friend's name without hesitation. The edges on the dark-haired boy's lips tweaked up in a smile the cat and mouse game amusing him. The blonde approached Riley not wanting to be left out of the action. He reached out and ran his fingers down her arm, causing a shiver to shoot down the spine.

"Can I get you a drink?" In response, she flinched away from the wandering hand.

"No, I'm fine thank you. We should be going right Maya?" The brunette was hoping that it would be enough for Maya to get the hint. The words fell on deaf ears as something else in the room had caught and paralyzed her attention. Riley's eyebrows narrowed in concern she could tell that something was terribly wrong.

"Maya," the words seemed to bring her back to reality. She turned to the boy that was standing next to her.

"Let's get out of here," There was a certain desperation in her voice that perked Riley's interest. There was something that she was hiding, and Maya never hid things from her.

"What?" She wasn't seriously suggesting that she go anywhere alone with these boys, was she? As she started to walk away she was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. Blue eyes met her questioning brown ones.

"Not now Riles." She shrugged off the hand and disappeared through the crowd despite the protests. Riley turned back in just enough time to see Josh lip locked with another girl.

* * *

The only thing that Riley could feel was completely helpless watching her best friend walking away with a guy that she barely knew. If she didn't listen to Riley in that moment she was convinced that nothing she said would change her. Her brown eyes drifted back to Josh who was still preoccupied with the girl that was sitting on his lap. If just seeing Josh would affect her like that then something really must have happened. She had no clue that Josh was going to be here tonight, and if she had known then they wouldn't had come. The guy who was there standing with her let out a cough.

"Not interested," She knew if she started the soft approach that he wouldn't get the hint and then she would have to spend even more time making him disappear. One thing that she knew more than anything in this moment that she would need back up. Her fingers scrolled through her contacts till they hit the desired person.

"Come on Farkle." She said under her breath. He needed to pick up because if he didn't then she didn't know what she would do.

"Riley?" He sounded surprised that she would be calling him. "What's wrong."

"It's Maya, I don't know what to do Farkle. I need backup." Her voice must have held enough panic for Farkle to cut her off.

"We're on our way." She felt so relieved at that thought that she didn't realize that he was not coming alone. She hung up the phone and started her search for her best friend.

Farkle hung up the phone and slammed it into his pocket with some urgency. His behavior caused the other boys to sit up from the couch.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, the way he was acting all wrong. He was flustered and upset.

"That was Riley, something is wrong with Maya."

"What? Did she say what was wrong?" Zay leaned forward concern flooding his features.

"No, but I know that if Riley is calling it's serious so I'm going to be there for them." He snapped slightly and then regretted it.

"Are you guys coming?" He asked, but didn't need to repeat as they leaped off the couch to follow him out the door.

* * *

The party had swung into full motion by the time that Riley had gotten off the phone with Farkle and was starting to feel more lost than ever with the sea of people around her. She wandered through the crowds not letting anyone or anything distract her; she was on a mission to find Maya.

When she found her, she was perched on the previous guy's lap attached by the lips. Sure, Maya had crossed the line before, but she had never seen her like this.

"Maya, come on I want to go home." The blonde used her free hand to try and shoo off her best friend, but Riley was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable at the party.

"Maya." Once again, she was ignored while Maya was trying to lose herself in the moment to forget seeing the object of her previous affection.

"Come on Maya." Riley took matters in her own hand as she grabbed the hand Maya was trying to ignore her with and pealed her off the guy.

" _Come on Josh," Maya lazily dragged on her name the scent of alcohol on her breath. She watched as her unofficial boyfriend looked around at the people that were at the party and then turned his attention back to her. He had gotten this invitation to this party and asked her to go with him. They were taking things slow not wanting to screw anything up._

" _No Maya, we need to get you home soon otherwise Shawn will skin me alive." Maya scoffed she wasn't scared of what her step father had to say, she was all grown up and could make her own mistakes._

" _I have a better idea." Her eyes lit up like she was struck with the most brilliant idea in her mind. She leaned forward and hovered outside his ear._

" _Let's go somewhere more private." She huskily whispered while running her finger down his chest towards his jeans. She watched his eyes widened at her suggestion in surprise, they had danced around this subject since she had turned 18. She felt him tense under his touch and her lips twisted up into a wicked grin._

" _No." At his answer Maya's face scrunched up in confusion. Why would he say no, didn't he want her? Maybe if she tried harder she would get her way and they could finally be together in a way that that haunted her dreams at night. She looked up at his blue eyes and made a rash decision. She grabbed his face in her hands and smashed her searing lips on his in a needy kiss._

 _The next thing she knew she was pushed off him and stumbled back a couple steps._

" _I said no Maya." Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment as his reaction caused some eyes to start looking at her. What did that say about her if her unofficial boyfriend didn't want her? Her thoughts started to spiral as anger overtook her emotions. If he didn't find her desirable there were plenty of guys at this party that would think otherwise._

" _Maya," He brought out her tender voice that made her knees go weak. She didn't want his pity to, she already felt foolish enough._

" _Leave me alone Josh." She ran straight into the crows in hopes to leave him behind._

It was almost as the two were on a standstill. Riley for the two to go home before anyone got hurt and Maya for her to continue back to her previous activity of forgetting. Maya crossed her arms across her chest temporarily forgetting the guy behind her.

"What are you doing Maya?" The girl that she knew wouldn't do this just on a whim, and as the blue icy glare stared her down, she didn't recognize the person in front of her. Riley knew the only way she would got back to normal was if they sat down and had a heart to heart. She could open up about Lucas and she would about Josh.

"Having fun, you should try it some time," she replied sarcastically. Riley knew the alcohol was clearly affecting her, but that didn't make the words sting less.

"You don't mean that, this is because of Josh isn't it. Because of that girl, Maya we need to talk about this." Her words struck a chord with the blonde, mainly because she knew that Riley was right like she always was, but Maya wasn't going to admit that any time soon.

"No, we don't Riles, you know what needs to happen, I need space. We don't need to talk about him or anything about the situation." Maya's solution would be easier but it wouldn't help her in the long run.

"But you can't just bottle everything up and pretend it didn't happen." She had her fair share with experience with bottling up her feelings, it just backfired on her.

"That's kind of calling the kettle black isn't it Riles?"

"W-What?"

"This is coming from a girl who can't talk about her relationship with one of her best friends. Who couldn't decide whether she wanted to be with Lucas or not, and then when you both finally decide to do so you guys break up. Instead of moving on like any normal person you mope around for six months and then even after that you're still in love him."

The surrounding parties got quiet watching the drama between the two unfold. Riley couldn't handle Maya when she was like this, they knew too much of each other so their words hurt more.

"If you want me to stop, I'll stop, but you have to tell Lucas how you feel." A cold shiver jumped down her spine as she slowly turned towards the front door when Farkle, Zay, and Lucas just came through the door, but by the look on his face he had heard every word.

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 **AN.- So I'll leave it right there. There is more to the Joshaya story that you will find out later. Let me know what you think! See you on the flip side.**


	6. Chapter 6 Summer is Ending Soon

**A.N.- Since I won't be updating next week (read the A.N. below) I decided to update a day early since it was already done. I wanted to personally thank all of you who's reading and reviewing. You all are so awesome and I couldn't wish for better readers. I'm surprised at how many Joshaya fans there are . (Maybe I'll have to work on the Joshaya one shot I had planned over my break). Hang on. There's more pleasant Joshaya interaction outside of this chapter.**

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 **And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken  
And she's so pretty, and she's so sure  
Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her  
The summer's all in bloom  
The summer is ending soon**

Mortified would be the word Riley used when it came to how she was feeling with her best friend calling her out in front of all these strangers. A fire blush was set ablaze across her checks as she attempted to look anywhere but at Lucas because she could already feel his eyes drawn to her.

"That's enough Maya." Josh's strong jaw went rigid as he saw Riley slowly dying inside to the point where he had no other option but to join in. His presence took the focus away from Riley who took the opportunity to run. With embarrassment bleeding from every pore in her body it was no surprise that her clumsy side took over landing her in a position where the only thing stopping from hitting the ground was Lucas's arm. It was then that her chocolate eyes jumped up to his soft meadow ones, he was looking like he was trying to figure out something to say.

"Riley,'- This was the last place and time that she wanted to have this conversation with him.

"I can't do this right now." As soon as she regained control over her own gravity she went running off despite the blonde boy calling her name.

Maya was too mad to chase after Riley so she turned back Josh who was standing there with his arms crossed.

"Maya." There was a reason he had put so much distance between them. Looking down at the blue eyes searching his with more questions, it flooded his brain with the memories of a night he would rather forget.

" _Come on Josh," Maya lazily dragged on his name the scent of alcohol on her breath. Josh's eyes wandered around the room before making his way back to her. He had gotten this invitation to this party and asked her to go with him. They were taking things slow not wanting to screw anything up._

" _No Maya, we need to get you home soon otherwise Shawn will skin me alive." He was trying to do the right thing; didn't she see that? His efforts were met with a scoff._

" _I have a better idea." He watched as her eyes lit up to match her mischievous grin. She leaned forward and hovered outside his ear her hot breath leading his mind southward._

" _Let's go somewhere more private." He didn't know which was more distracting, her tone or the fact that she was running her finger in a teasing fashion down his chest. They had danced around this subject since she had turned 18. He tried his best to hide how much she was affecting her but knowing the blonde she was exactly aware of how much control she had._

" _No." He surprised himself at the sternness in his voice, but it wasn't right to do the kind of things that she was suggesting at the state of mind that Maya was currently in. He watched confusion wash over at the blonde at why she didn't get her way. Her blue eyes met his and out of the blue she reached up and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips. He was taken back, and when he came to his senses about what she was trying to do he knew that he needed to put a stop to it. He gently pushed her back wanting to explain himself._

" _I said no Maya." He could see the dangerous place that her mind was entering a dangerous place, he needed to pull her out of where her thoughts were headed._

" _Maya," He brought out her tender voice that made her knees go weak. She didn't want his pity too, she already felt foolish enough._

" _Leave me alone Josh." She ran straight into the crows in hopes to leave him behind._

 _It took Josh a couple minutes for Josh to find the girl, but he almost wished he hadn't as his stomach dropped to his feet. Maya was occupying herself grinding herself into the nearest guy that she could find. She flashed a smirk and he knew that she was just doing it to get under his skin; and it was working. His lips tilted down into a permeant frown watching her have a good time, the worst part was that he couldn't bring himself to look away. She used her hand to reach into this guess light brown hair bringing his face close so she could whisper._

 _Whatever was said he had agreed and they joined hands as he escorted her off the dance floor._

 _"Maya." He couldn't believe what was fueling her behavior; this wasn't the girl that he was falling for. She turned in a huff back like a child throwing a tantrum for a parent._

 _"We're over Josh. Go find someone that you find more desirable. I'm not a kid anymore, but apparently, you still see me as one." She snapped angrily while Josh stood there dumbfounded._

 _"Fine." He came to his senses and yelled back shocking her._

 _"Fine." Maya replied defiantly linked her hand with this random guy that she was and headed for the stairs and Josh found that he couldn't do anything but watch. Maya wasn't a child and she made it very clear where her decision was, and if was one thing that he learned from her was that she was as stubborn as a bull and when she got it in her head then there was no convincing her otherwise. Even if he wanted to stop her, he found that he couldn't move his feet._

He had chosen to move on past Maya that day, things had never been the same. It had been awkward every time he came to visit the Matthews and after a couple times he stopped coming around to visit as much. He wasn't going to let Maya scare him away from this situation, she had gone too far and hurt Riley in the process.

"Josh," It didn't matter after all the time that had passed between them, he could still reduce her to a puddle by just the look.

"After all this time, you still haven't grown up, have you?" His word stirred up the anger inside her.

"Bite me." Maya stormed off which earned a couple of ooohs of the surrounding people.

The boys knew that they had to split up to find the two friends.

Riley had found a spot outside that no one seemed to bother her. She kept her head down to prevent anyone from seeing the tears that had rolled down her cheek. She knew that Maya was hurt, but she also had to take in consideration that her best friend had made thing vastly more difficult for her. And much as she wanted to leave and with how easy it would be, she couldn't; Maya needed her. Something happened between her and Josh and her best friend was in pain. They had decided a long time ago that they would be each other's safe place.

"Funny meeting you here." Her eyes bolted up to the warm ones of Jordan. "You are a hard person to find Riley." She tried to smile and forget about the freshly fallen tears, it was Jordan who had invited her here after all.

"What are you doing out here the party-" his words stopped when he noticed the tear stained cheeks.

"What happened?" Riley tried to laugh off any pain that she felt.

"It's nothing." Luckily for Jordan, it wasn't a hard act to see through.

"It doesn't look like nothing." He gently probed.

"You'll think it's silly."

"Try me." Riley bit her lip in hesitation, he hadn't given her a reason not to trust him; and it wasn't like she could open up to anyone else about this. Maybe all she needed was to get it off her chest.

"I have always wanted to be Maya since we first met, but"-

"Why?" He asked catching her off guard.

"Why what?"

"Why did you want to be Maya." How was he even questioning that? True he had limited interaction with the blonde, but Riley was just under the assumption that anyone who sees her best friend could see the confidence ooze out of her.

"Well she's funny, she's always is making people laugh." It was easy to list qualities that she envied from her friend, and it just made her question whether talking about this was the right thing to do.

"And she confident, she doesn't waiver when it comes to the decisions that she makes." Even though some of the decisions lead to some tough situations, overall Maya knew what and who she wanted.

"And you're not?" His eyebrows knit in confusion.

"I am, sometimes. I like to think though the situation," Riley chuckled. "Sometimes too much."

"That sounds like the smarter decision. What else." He pressed on leaving Riley self-conscious.

"And I mean, have you seen her, she's gorgeous." Her hands flailed in the air in exasperation before falling to her knees. In response Jordan just let out a chuckle and her eyebrows narrowed, she didn't know how he thought this was funny.

"Any what pray tell do you find amusing?" Jordan's laughter subsided as he held up his hands defensively.

"Riley, have you ever seen yourself? Any guy would be lucky to have you on your arm. You're right, Maya is pretty, but trust me, she has nothing on you." His hand reached up and pushed her hair that had fallen back behind her ear. Needless to say, a blush spread across her cheeks because she wasn't used to the attention that the brunette was giving her. Unbeknownst to her, someone else had watched their exchange.

It was a weird feeling, watching Riley interact with this other guy. Both times she seemed extraordinarily happy with their exchange. When he reached up and tucked his brunette's hair behind her ear it felt like he had been gutted or he wanted to punch a tree, he didn't know which. It wasn't like he could object, she wasn't his girlfriend, in any sense beside an ex. Riley was free to do as she wished and that included talking to other guys, but he didn't take in account how much it would hurt to see her so happy, maybe it hurt more because he wasn't happy.

After their break-up, so long ago, he tried to get over her, he let Zay and some of his other friends take him out on a regular occasion to meet other people, but most of the girls he met reminded him of her in some way. He distinctly remembered that there were certain nights when Zay stole his phone so he wouldn't call her. He would have gone after her, but this was what she wanted; and for her he would do anything in his power to make her happy including a life without him.

It only took a couple weeks before the emotions from their separation kicked in. It hurt to see her so happy almost as if nothing happened between them, so he decided without her. College was the perfect distraction that he intended to throw himself into, and he succeeded. Watching Riley interact with this guy made him question if he made the right choice.

Ever since they had arrived at the beach house, it was almost like the universe was giving them both another chance but it was up to them to take the leap. His eyes drifted back to the brunette the girl that he couldn't erase from his mind. His fists gathered by his side until he couldn't bare it anymore and barged outside startling the two. Instantly he almost felt like an outsider with the two sets of eyes on him.

"Riley," Of course the words aren't coming as easy when he needed them two. "Farkle wants to talk to us." Us, he never expected such a small word to ignite a glimmer of hope within him after all these years. Riley turned back in hesitation towards her guest who offered a smile.

"Go, just think about my offer."

"Will do." She smiled before heading away from Jordan, who managed to cheer her up, but after they got out of earshot, Lucas couldn't take it anymore.

"So, what was that all about?" Lucas asked casually although his jealousy was seeping through.

"Alright if I was Riley Matthews, where would I go?" Zay muttered to himself as he was just trying to find the brunette. He had no idea where she would go, and the amount of people made the task seem that much more impossible. His brown eyes scanned the room until they landed on a girl with strawberry blonde hair and piercing green eyes, and then he found that he couldn't look away. She acted different then everyone at the party she was just sitting on the couch seeming uncomfortable with the whole scene. He watched as another guy slipped next to her and snaked his one arm around her shoulder. Anyone who was sober could see that she didn't want this guy anywhere near her; Zay knew that he had to do something. He grabbed two drinks and interrupted whatever they were saying.

"Here you are Honey, sorry it took so long, I couldn't find the bottle water." Her eyes jumped up to his brown ones in rather shock. The guy who had encroached on her looked between Zay and the girl multiple times before throwing his hands up in surrender and walking away. Zay handed her the bottle of water and began to walk away but her voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Why did you do that, you didn't have to." Her voice was still standoffish, partly because she was still figuring him out.

"Well sorry." He didn't know what else to say, usually when Lucas did stuff like this he usually got praised, not ridiculed.

"Thank you." She held out her hand for him to shake.

"The name is Casey." She said confidently. "And you are?"

"Zay."

"Do you want to dance?" She asked shyly. Zay knew that he should be looking for Maya and Riley, but what harm would one dance do?

Despite the crowds, noise and distraction, Farkle was determined to find her. He could easily sift through the different people until he went up a flight of stairs rounded a corner and there was Maya Hart; fierce amazon women, now just an empty shell sitting against a wall. He wasn't used to seeing her like this, it was hard enough when Riley had slipped into her depression. But the one thing he knew was that he could not afford not to try with her; she needed him. He slid down the wall next to her with her just offering a passing glance. Words were almost not needed between them, he could just tell that it would be a long night.

"What's wrong with me Farkle?" She asked abruptly without prompt. Farkle's eyes jumped to the beauty only to return to his spot that he was staring at.

"Nothing is wrong"-

"Don't lie to me Farkle." She snapped. He let out a sigh, he knew dealing with Maya would be difficult, but he didn't have many answers for her. He used his fingers to tilt her head towards him.

"I'm not lying Maya. You are smart even though you try not to show it, you are funny, and" He hesitated for a brief second. "And you grew up gorgeous too, any guy would be lucky to have you." His finger dropped from her chin, but their eye contact held them in place.

"Not Josh." She muttered softly.

"Well then he's missing out on something special." His words seemed to provide the reassurance that the blonde needed.

"Thank you." His lips tugged upward.

"For what?" He asked softly.

"For being there for me." She answered back. Farkle stood up and offered her a hand. In the process her legs gave way and he decided it would be easy just to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to the car. He could figure out a plan for the other three after he got her situated.

"So, what was that all about?" Lucas asked casually although his jealousy was seeping through. He had to ask, even though he was unsure of the pain that it would cause. Riley shrugged her shoulders trying to make her answer as nonchalantly as possible.

"Not much, Jordan is just a friend, he invited me over tomorrow." Lucas's eyebrow narrowed in concern.

"Are you sure that's a good idea." It was his protective side kicking in, he knew nothing about this Jordan guy, and he didn't like that one bit.

"He's a good guy Lucas, and even if he was interested in me, it's not like you haven't had had girlfriends in the past." She was trying to push them back to some sort of normal. If they got onto a talking basis again, maybe they would just slip into what they know. She could sense the discomfort in his body language as his eyes shifted away from her for the first point in the conversation; she almost felt like a detective for figuring it out.

"You have! Tell me about her."

"I'm not talking about this with you." His tone was short and to the point, and even though she knew it to be unlikely, she had to try anyway.

"Why, we can be friends,"-

"Can we?" He argued. To him that had crossed that line a long time ago, he wasn't sure if it was even possible to go back to being just friends. Maybe her day dreams weren't haunted by the images that were.

"Why because you still have feelings for me?" She challenged. She didn't know this for a fact, but it was a likely deduction based on them kissing the other day.

His eyes widened for a brief second shocked by her bluntness. They had been tip toeing around each other not doing the other a favor. Of course, his feelings lingered for the brunette and he was almost sure that they always would; she was his first true love, people with that title rarely get forgotten.

"And you still have feelings for me." He shot back desperately hoping to see the same reaction in her behavior. Her eyes shifted away. They had yet to talk about Maya's little outburst or the fact that he had heard all of it. Her weight shifted to her other foot and she pushed her hair back behind her ear, a nervous habit that he had missed.

"Let's go find Farkle," she shut down any advancement in the subject, she turned to match the direction that her eyes had been facing with hopes that she could outrun this. Lucas didn't let her get too many steps ahead before trailing right behind his brunette.

Farkle was thankful for the cover of darkness as he supported the blonde from the journey from the car to her bed. Having Maya this close was driving himself wild; her scent lingered underneath the smell of alcohol. He wondered why she was driven to the point of why she drank the amount she did, when he arrived at the party he had gotten his answer. He didn't really know what had happened between Maya and Josh, and he almost didn't have to be, of course he would side with Maya, it was what he did.

He and the brunette had hatched a plan because Riley was sober enough, she was responsible to drive Maya's car back to the house. Lucas had offered to stay behind to keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe and Zay stayed behind to make sure they didn't kill each other or worse in the car.

Maya sloppy kicked off her shoes then only reason that she wasn't falling to the ground was Farkle's arms.

"Farkle?" The alcohol had started to take its told lulling Maya into a sleepy state.

"Yes, I'm here," He said softly.

"Is it time for bed?" She asked groggily

"Yes." While she was still out of it, her reaction was to reach for the hem of her shirt and peeled it off her body. Farkle's eyes jumped away quickly embarrassed at their current predicament. He wasn't quick enough that his eyes caught a glimpse of the lean sultry body underneath, and unfortunately, he was sure that the image would be ingrained in his mind for days to come. He squinted one eye open and was relieved to see that Maya had found a long night shirt. He helped her into bed and made sure that she was tucked in to the covers. She was already going to have one hell of a headache when she woke up, she might as well be comfortable now. He was going to return to his room to get much needed sleep, but Maya grabbing his arm stopped him.

"Stay with me." He could never imagine a situation where she was asking this of him. It could be that she didn't know what she was staying, but he was still standing there with Maya's hand firmly on his wrist.

"I'm not sure that it's a good idea," He was hesitant, because he could barely control his one feelings now, who knows what the close quarters would lead to.

"Please." Her eyes were doing most of the begging for her. Farkle looked at the bedroom door, if anyone were to come and check on Maya they would jump to conclusions, but he couldn't say no to the blonde even if he wanted to.

"For a little while." He crawled on top of the bed next to her and basked in the smile that appeared on Maya's face. It was ultimately the sound of her peaceful slumber that caused his eyes to flutter close and allow sleep to claim him as well not caring about the consequences that would come in the morning.

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 **A.N.- This chapter turned out much longer than I thought. A lot happened. If you caught everything, you have questions now. If you leave them in a review, I'll answer some of them. How do you guys like Jordan? You might have also noticed some Cappie/Casey inspiration in there, there will be more of that. Alright, here's the deal, life is super hectic right now. I'm trying to stay ahead but it's harder, so I probably won't be able to post for two weeks (although if I do get ahead, you know I will). I look forward to hearing from you all. I'll be posting some spoilers on my Instagram during the two weeks so go give me a follow. (or just look every now and then) Till next time.**


	7. Chapter 7 I Hold on to Your Secrets

**A.N.-I'm back, I hope you guys missed this story. I have a couple of things to say. Number one, you all are awesome, the support for this story has blown me away. Number two about the whole Joshaya/Markle triangle, I did get a couple reviews that said because it wasn't Joshaya they were done with the story (and as sad as that makes my heart) I will go on the record with saying that you all don't know what will happen. You'll see within a couple chapters that, that triangle isn't going to be so obvious in a couple chapters. Third, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, things are about to get interesting. And Lastly, the rating for this story is going to go up within a couple chapters for sexual content. This and next chapter is your warnings.**

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 **It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone** **  
** **But I hold on to your secrets in white houses**

The light from the sun streaming through the window was what caused the blond to stir in the first place. Her eyes peaked open as the massive headache hit her from the activities last night. She let out a groan and shifted her body slightly only to realize that her arm was resting on something or rather someone. Her eyes flew open and she sat up too fast as she grabbed her head for support. She didn't remember much of the previous night, but judging by the pain radiating from her throbbing head, she wouldn't want to. There seemed like an overwhelming amount of questions flooding through her mind, but she decided to address them one at a time otherwise she would end up frustrated.

 _Why was Farkle in her bed?_

The question seemed innocent enough, he was one of her best friends after all; the fact that he still had all his clothing on seemed to also provide comfort to her. She was dressed in a different shirt than she usually wore to bed, she didn't even want to think about how the scenario went down. Her eyes drifted down to his sleeping figure; he looked so peaceful. Almost like he was that little bird that she called him so many years ago; her opinion had not waivered with time, he still needed to be protected.

"Farkle." She jerked his body trying to wake him, because he would have more answers than she would have. His eyes shot open when he realized where he was and who he was with.

"Maya, what the"- His eyes jumped down to see he was still clothed and breathed a sigh of relief as the events of last night were slowly playing back in his mind.

"What happened last night?" She ran her hand through her hair, but that didn't seem to held the pain. His eyes drifted to her shirt and he had to fight the blush spreading across his cheeks at the image of Maya removing her clothing.

"You saw Josh, it wasn't pretty." He figured the less she knew the better in this case.

 _She stood there in front of Josh, after all these years he could still make her tongue tied and knees weak. He stood all high and mighty over her short frame, and she could tell that he wasn't happy. Despite all the years she still wanted to please him._

" _Josh," Their blue eyes locked, and then his name was the only thing she could get out was his name._

" _After all this time, you still haven't grown up, have you?" His word stirred up the anger inside her. How dare he state that she hadn't grown up._

" _Bite me." Maya stormed off despite the ooohs of the surrounding people._

She remembered that now, but that didn't come to explain why he was in her bed.

"And," she prompted, her need for answers increasing.

"You ran off and then I went after you, you were drunk by that point. I took you home and you asked me to stay with you in bed, so I did for a little bit. I intended to sneak out after you fell asleep, but I think I dozed off." Maya's eyebrows narrowed, that didn't explain the large gaps in her memories.

"What about Riley, the last thing I remember is being at the party with her and"- Farkle's face told her exactly what happened; but she needed confirmation. She grabbed his shirt and jerked him close to her.

"Farkle, what happened." His eyes looked anywhere but at her and nervousness began to grow.

"You went too far, Maya." At his words, she suddenly released him letting the reality sink in. All her life, whenever she had something going for her, she always managed to screw it up in some way; it was bound to happen with Riley too.

"What happened?" Even though she feared the worse, she needed to know how to fix it. She couldn't live in a life without her best friend.

"I don't know too much, you should talk to Riley about it." Of course, he wasn't going to make it easy on her, but it was better this way. He handed her a water bottle that was located on her nightstand and she took a drink; it helped a little.

"You go sober up in the shower, I'll go make you some coffee." The offer was quite tempting so she agreed while stretching her arms out like a cat waking up from a nap. The two walked out of the door with the two different destinations in mind, but both were stopped by a brunette with her arms crossed over her chest; they were caught red handed.

"Riley, it's not what it looks like," the words fell out of her mouth. The blonde knew exactly how bad this looked, but all of it was innocent.

"Really, because it looks like you two had a little sleepover." Riley was not in the mood to play games, she came up the room to try and talk things out with her best friend and this was how she was greeted. Farkle sensed the discomfort between the two girls and figured the best way for the two of them to work out their issues would be to leave them alone.

"I'm going to go"- He didn't know which girl he was more terrified of when they were upset. Riley's eyes jolted over to him paralyzing him for a second.

"We will talk later." Farkle gulped and made a beeline for the stairs his eyes glued to the floor. Riley forced Maya back into her room and closed the door.

"Riles, can this wait I'm not-"

"No, it can't Maya. You crossed the line last night." Maya already knew that she had gone over the line last night, even though her brain was fuzzy on the details.

"Could you not yell, Riley. My brain is still catching up."

"And after you humiliate me in front of a room of strangers, you decided to go back and be all buddy-buddy with Farkle?"

"Nothing happened," Maya pressed. Farkle would have told her if it did, she would trust that boy with her life.

"You left me alone Maya." She didn't know what hurt worse, the words that had come out of her mouth, or the fact that she had yet to apologize.

"I'm sorry Riles." The two sets of eyes connected and she could see the hesitation on her best friend's face.

"Can't we just put this behind us?" The blonde's eyes were begging, but no matter how sorry she looked Riley couldn't get the image of the previous night out of her head. Maya really had hurt her with the words that were said; she needed to do some healing herself before letting Maya back into every crack of her life.

"I'm sorry Maya I can't." Maya's mouth dropped the rebuttals dripping off her tongue.

"But"-

"Maya, I just need some time. Now if you excuse me, I have to go meet Jordan." She replied coldly and walking the door leaving her best friend behind. There were some things in this life that you couldn't thunder and lightning away; this being one of them.

Maya sat down on her bed as her knees gave way, they always figured something out, that's what makes them Riley and Maya. Her head was still pounding and she just hoped that this shower would wash away this feeling that she couldn't shake.

* * *

"So, this is your final warning, my mom is a little...intense." He warned which just made Riley laugh.

"I'm sure she's not nearly as bad as you say she is." But Jordan rolled his eyes and opened the door obviously preparing for the worst. Riley's eyes took in the surroundings of their home. It was a nice beach house and by the view of all the stuff, their family visited here often.

"How often to you come here?" Riley leaned in as she asked so anyone surrounding them would not hear in which now it was Jordan's turn to chuckle.

"Every chance we get. My mother loves the beach, she almost feels home when she's out here. " It was a simply enough explanation, Riley found that she couldn't blame her, there was something about the calming effect of the waves. Maybe in another time and place she could see herself on the sea, but that was a thought for another daydream.

"Jordan, is that you?" The young perky voice rang out throughout the home.

"Last chance to run." He muttered, but Riley stood her ground.

"Jordan, you didn't tell me how pretty your friend was." Riley although she hated to admit it, gained some entertainment out of the blush that was present on his cheeks. She winked in the brunette's direction to get her point across, to which Riley produced a weak smile in return. She was never used to getting this much attention from people, it put her a little out of her element.

"Your home is so lovely." She complimented starting to feel even at home.

"Well, you know what they say, it's not really a home without the people in it," she finished by putting her hands on her hips.

"Look at me just babbling away, you all must be hungry, would you like to stay for lunch."

"Yes please."

"Jordan, I go get the food, you show her to the table." The woman hurried off into the kitchen preparing whatever they were going to have while Jordan nudged her shoulder playfully.

"Come on, it's over here."

"She's not that bad." Riley laughed after Jordan's mother had come to put the food on the table. She had tried to be subtle with nudging Jordan closer to Riley and mentioned how cute they were together before leaving the sandwiches on the table and returning inside.

"You don't live with her," he retorted quickly. "She thinks that I'm a shut and that I don't have any friends."

"Well, are you?" She quipped in almost a flirty demeanor.

"I have friends if that's what you're implying. Most of them are of the girl variety, and without fail every time I bring one of them home my mother tries to shove me and her together." He took a bite of the sandwich in front of him hungrily.

"You mean I don't get special treatment?" She teased. His mom seemed nice, and she was probably just doing that because she wanted to see her son happy.

"Just wait till you come back, that's when her real crazy come out." They both chuckled till the noise subsided leaving a silence as they nibbled on their food.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He probed breaking the silence. Riley's eyes jumped up to his blue ones which was filled with concern. She wondered how he could tell that something was wrong, she couldn't be that transparent.

"I had a fight with my friend before I came over here. We almost never fight, but when we do; it gets bad."

"Maya, right?" He questioned softly and Riley nodded slowly letting it sink into her system. She didn't forgive Maya. What was her motto about forgiveness all those years ago; forgiveness is for suckers. She had decided that people can change people, but eventually that fades and their old instincts kick in. Being the good influence for her best friend was exhausting and now she just wanted some space so she could recuperate; that wasn't wrong was it.

"Yeah, I blew up at her before I came here, I told her that I needed some time I've never not been there for her before. I was just sick and tired of her not thinking, and then she outed me in front of strangers at this party about Lucas"- She didn't even realize that she stared to rant about the whole situation until he cut her off.

"He was the guy who came to get you, wasn't he?" It could have been anyone else who had gotten her, but it seemed like Jordan could see through her even at the party.

"Yeah, that was him." Her eyes trailed to her hands as her mind played flashbacks of the words that were said between them. Another silence fell over the table the sandwiches lay forgotten in front of them.

"You still love him." Jordan stated which caused a blush to spread over her cheeks her mouth fell open trying desperately to find an excuse.

"No, I don't," she said more for the reason to convince herself than Jordan. There was no way that he could tell what she felt towards the blonde. There were too many reasons that would convince her that they wouldn't work out. History would repeat itself and they would see that they weren't right for each other and it would just break her heart.

"Maya seemed to think so, and he didn't seem that happy with the special attention that I was giving you."

"Maya has it in her mind that I do because she doesn't see the whole picture. He just is protective of me from time to time."

"Like a boyfriend?" He quipped knowing that he was riling her up.

"He's always like that with his friends. Lucas doesn't have any feeling for me, and even if he did, I can't like him." She didn't want to admit that she feared the possibility of still having feelings for Lucas, because if she did then it meant that she was like a lost puppy trailing after a guy that she stood no chance with. She was so mad she didn't even notice the slip in her wording, but Jordan did.

"You said can't that time." It was like the epiphany sparked in his mind.

"What of it?" She tried to play it off.

"You didn't say that you didn't have feelings for Lucas, you said you can't." He had found the crack in her armor and she suddenly felt like all her defenses were coming around her. His body language leaned forward since he knew that he had won the argument.

"What are you so afraid of Ms. Matthews that you can't like a guy that clearly likes you."

"That history will repeat itself." She said almost too loudly for her own tastes. She knew there was no way for Lucas to hear this conversation, but it was the fact that Jordan brought up the real reason she wasn't allowing the feelings to surface.

"Lucas and I have some history, and I don't want to relive what happened."

"You are different people now, but if you keep these feelings buried then you will just be miserable." There wasn't much she could do, she knew he was right.

"I love Lucas," She whispered.

"What was that?" He teased.

"I still love Lucas." She repeated but only louder which caused Jordan's lips to spread into a grin.

"Then why are you telling me, why not tell him." Riley stood up at her little pep talk with a new-found determination. She started walking down the stairs to head back to her home.

"Jordan," She paused slightly. "You're a good guy." He offered one in return. If things were different with Lucas, he would have been a possibility. Whichever girl would end up with Jordan would be a lucky girl.

"Just not good enough," Jordan mumbled to himself as he watched the brunette race back towards her house. He felt a bittersweet feeling take over, he lost the girl, but she would be happy, and that was the most important part.

* * *

The shower had offered Maya little comfort as the argument had continued to ring in her head. Her whole life in whatever she was given she always found a way to screw it up. It was bound to happen with Riley even though she dreaded the thought; she couldn't live in a world without Riley. She had to figure out a way to fix things, Riley said she needed time, so she would give it time; no matter how much it hurt.

She could smell the coffee as she started to venture down the main stairs. Her pace slowed to a halt right outside the kitchen as she heard Farkle and Zay's topic of conversation; her.

"So, you're telling me that nothing happened between you and Maya last night, because your bed was empty the whole night. "

"Nothing happened," Farkle replied defensively as a blush spread across his cheeks.

"Really because your face is saying something different." She heard Zay being yanked closer as their voices dropped to a whisper. Maya was always a curious one and she needed more answers. She leaned forward to gain a better access point to hear. In the process, she managed to trip over herself and stumble into the kitchen. Farkle and Zay jumped apart looking guilty as sin, Maya's eyes went from Farkle to Zay back to Farkle. She was just trying to hear what they were trying to say. She needed to know what they were going to say, how he was going to answer. Her eyes grew wide as she excused herself and walked away from the boys.  
The thought was burned into her mind no matter how much she wanted it not be. It was almost if she wanted something to happen with Farkle- her cheeks grew a brush. She tried to push the thought down to the pits of her dungeon in her brain where she kept the ballerinas and other things she didn't like to think about, but she found that the thought kept reapplying to the surface. She looked back at Zay and Farkle arguing in the kitchen, she had never thought about him in that way before. He was always there despite anything that she did, his jokes could make her sides split from laughing so hard on days that he wanted to feel goofy, and he was handsome- he wasn't the same little kid that she met at a Halloween party all those years ago. She laughed at the thought of Farkle proposing to her those multiple times through their middle school years, and how he said he would be hers with just word; she always thought he was just saying that, but what if? - What is crazy to think that possibly all this time the boy had harbored some sort of feelings for her? She was never one of "those kind of girls" but she felt giddy thinking about the genius. The only one that came close was her younger days when Josh would enter the room.

She looked towards the kitchen once more and her eyes caught that of Farkle who looked just as embarrassed as she did. Luckily Lucas was somewhere sulking in his room, if he was with them, he would have teasing rights for longer than she would like to admit. Sure, Zay opened up the floor for them to approach the subject if either of them wanted to talk about it. She wanted to explore what was there to see if they had something between them. She bit her lip in hesitation and she didn't know why she was, maybe it was because she didn't want to lose him in her life. She pulled out her phone to text him to meet her at the beach so they could discuss what was happening between them, but before she could hit the send button, the doorbell rang. Who would be there; she didn't invite any one. One look back at the boys showed that they were just as confused as she was. She was the closest to the door so she took it upon herself to open to deal with the guest who was waiting. She opened the door and felt all her butterflies die at once. She forced a smile on to not let everyone see that she was disappointed.

"Smackle." Her mind was racing with thoughts, but mostly about the girl that was standing in front of her, but the one most prominent was why was she there? Smackle noticed the awkward silence and shifted her weight to her other foot uncomfortably.

"Hello Maya, are you going to let me in?"

* * *

 **A.n- Bet you didn't see that coming. Just stick with me, nothing is final until I say it is. Keep on being awesome readers, you are really good at it. Tell me what you think! Till next time.**


	8. Chapter 8 Over My Head

**A.N.- I know a lot of people were waiting on this chapter. For those of you doubting the Joshaya side of the triangle, just wait till the next chapter, and then you can tell me you give up on it. I love hearing your feedback, it is awesome that you all are engaging and talking with me. ANOTHER WARNING AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER THIS STORY WILL BE MOVING UP TO M BECAUSE OF SEXUAL CONTENT. Don't say I didn't tell you.**

* * *

 **Maybe I'm a little bit over my head** **  
** **I come undone at the things he said** **  
** **And he's so funny in his bright red shirt**

"Hello Maya, are you going to let me in?" This dead air hung around as Maya just stood there in shock. It wasn't until Isadora cleared her throat it knocked her out of any trance she was in.

"Of course," She stepped back to allow the guest to enter. Her mind started racing with all these questions that she couldn't get the answer to. Why was she here, did Farkle invite her? Did he know that they would be there?

"Smackle? Maya cringed when she heard Farkle's surprise voice as he exited out of the kitchen with Zay close behind. Maya ignored Zay muttering 'this should be interesting,' under his breath. Maya made a mental note to talk to Zay later to see what he knew.

Smackle's eyes drifted to floor, slightly self-conscious to all their stares.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in slight disbelief.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend former love-nemesis?" Farkle regressed and gave her a hug instead. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. Maya felt her whole-body lock as she watched the two of them interact; almost painfully so. They were both so aware of the feelings that lingered between the two, it only made sense to put her plan on hold to tell the genius her feelings.

"Zay," She smiled towards her other friend before giving him a brief hug too.

"You look good, happy."

"Why wouldn't I be?" She questioned slyly. "I still have a world to take over, just in a different way now."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he teased back.

"What's all the commotion-Smackle?" Lucas wandered out of his room to see what all the noise was and met the pleasant surprise.

"Now careful Lucas, one might deduct your flirty tone that you are hitting on me. Even though I'm a single woman, you still won't be able to woo me, but continue to try, it's amusing." Lucas let out a chuckle at her banter clearly not effected. The whole thing started years ago, between them both sides kept up the charade. Smackle knew that Lucas's heart would never belong to her, and she was alright with that, she always belonged to someone to someone else too.

"How are you Smackle?"

"I'm better now." The two exchanged a hug. They had gotten rather close before Smackle and Farkle had broken up. She then went away to school making communication harder, but the time and distance didn't seem existent now.

"Where is your sunshine?" She asked and his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. How did she know that Riley could have possibly been there? Sure, Smackle hadn't been active in his life, but there was no way that she could not know that the two of them were no longer together.

"She's not"- He paused and their eyes locked. A silent exchanged happened between them, and he could tell that she knew his secret; that he still had feelings for Riley.

"She always will be." She corrected him with a smile. Her words let his heart flutter with hope, how could she tell all this when she was so distant from them. Maybe it was because somethings never changed.

"Smackle, is that you?" Riley's voice rung out with excitement and slight confusion as she pushed past her friends to embrace the raven-haired women. After a second, Isadora returned the gesture tightly.

"What are you doing here." A giggle escaped from her lips, she almost felt like a middle schooler again.

"Farkle told me that this home was always open to me when I need it, and I found myself in need. I didn't know that you all would be here till I pulled into the driveway and saw the cars. I can go if my presence is not ok."

"Don't be silly Isadora, you're more than welcome here. I'll prepare the bedroom for you."

"Thank you Farkle," She replied as Farkle grabbed the suitcase and the two headed up the stairs, and while everyone's eyes were on those two, Lucas's eyes were on Riley.

Something had changed with her behavior from the last couple days. She seemed more upbeat, alive, his sunshine. He knew he wasn't the cause; she had just come back from hanging out with Jordan. His mind started to race with thoughts of what their hang out could have entailed. He knew Riley said that the two of them were just friends, but what he saw of their interaction, he was positive Jordan didn't want the same thing. He couldn't blame the guy, Riley had grown prettier as the years and her inside matched how perfect she was on the outside. He didn't want any guy making a move on Riley, even the thought of it was stirring up his Texan side, but then his eyes locked with Riley's and all those emotions dissipated. She always had this soothing effect on him, the ability to ground him. Who knew that Lucas the guy who was as strong as an ox could be softened by a pretty brunette with her big brown doe eyes.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Zay's words separated the eye contact between the two and Riley's eyes fell to the floor. Her mind started to rattle through different ideas to keep the group entertained. Her eyes lit up as one idea stuck in her mind.

"I have an idea," she stated proudly drawing all the attention to her. Her smile grew wider as her eyes past by everyone in the room while ending with Lucas. She wanted to tell Lucas, but she needed to wait for the right time to talk to him, when they could be alone.

* * *

It didn't take long for the group to be broken off into teams; one consisting of Riley, Lucas, and Zay and the other (despite protests) made up of Farkle, Smackle, and Maya. Riley went over the rules for Smackle who hadn't played charades in years. Despite the teams being uneven, Riley had decided that they were just going to play for fun; that's what good sportsmanship was all about, right?

"Alright Riles, it was your idea, so your team can go first; you're going to need all the luck you can get." Riley threw Maya a look before she stood up and pulled out a piece of paper and silently read it. She smiled because she knew exactly how she would portray this in a way that someone would be able to get. She crumbled it up and slid it into her pocket and then prepared herself.

"Go." Smackle yelled slightly in excitement as she flipped the timer to start her time.

Once the time started, Riley became to move her body slowly and awkwardly. She didn't know if they would remember her little performance to save the arts, but it was the first thing that popped in her head after she saw the word hippo. She moved her legs awkwardly and glanced towards her guesses. Zay looked confused as ever, so she turned her gaze to Lucas.

"Do it again," He ordered. Riley repeated the movements again this time trying to communicate and embrace the idea of what she was going to do.

"Time is almost up." Smackle announced.

"Hippo," he stated and all eyes turned to look at him, but his eyes were glued to the brunette.

"You remembered." She said softly a small smile graced her lips.

"Of course, I do, you spent so long preparing those dances." Their eyes were locked on each other until Maya voice broke them out of their trance.

"Well that's enough of sickly sweet for the moment." Riley returned to the couch sitting between Lucas and Zay. Zay turned his head in befuddlement at to what just happened between his friends. Riley grabbed the pencil and made a tally under her team's name passing the torch to the other team.

Farkle was next up in the prearranged order, he sighed as he stood up and stuck his bag with all the suggestions. He pulled out one read it, his eyes grew wide a little bit his brain racking of how he would act the paper out.

"You ready, Farkle?" Riley teased as she prepped the timer, without another warning she flipped it starting their time without warning.

"Go Farkle," Maya shouted her competitive side starting to show. The blonde's words acted as jump start to the genius turn as first he curled up on the ground in a tight ball and then he slowly broke out of his shell and started to work his way up. Maya started making wide guesses because she had no idea what in the world Farkle was doing.

As the time started to dwindle Maya had almost given up on being able to guess.

"Life stages of a tree!" Smarkle beamed confident in your answer which caused all the mouths to drop.

"That's right!" He exclaimed with excitement. Suddenly everyone was dreading what other words were among the mix.

"I can admit that I was a little loss until your transition from the middle aged to senior transition."

"I don't think you guys are playing the game right." Zay muttered.

The teams switched again and again, and it seemed like every time it went back to Smackle and Farkle they were on the same wave length leaving Maya just sitting there like a rock. When it was her turn, it was one of the only rounds to which her team couldn't guess the word Mickey Mouse. After that she spent the remaining time with her arms crossed in a hostile manner.

The universe seemed to be against her, again. It was almost nauseating to watch the two of them flirt back and forth exchanging compliments and slipping into the old selves. Where did that leave her? The question wasn't far from her mind, and she couldn't shake it. Riley was not speaking to her at the current moment and now she felt out of place on her own team. She had grown silent over the past couple turns refusing to even guess.

Her mood radiated out till almost was aware that she was upset but no one knew what to do since all of them had different thoughts of way she was upset.

"Well I'm bored of this game, should we something else?" Farkle tried to offer throwing the idea to Maya. She remained in her sour mood not really saying anything; they were only doing this because she was upset.

"What do you want to do Maya?" He pushed softly. Anything with talking was out, because the truth had a way of getting out within this bunch, and she couldn't have them know she was jealous of Farkle and Smackle.

"We could watch a movie." She suggested all happiness void in her voice. A movie was safe, they would be able to sit and watch and no conversation, especially revolving around her would be nonexistent. The awkwardness subsided a little as they finally decided to do a movie marathon instead.

As the movie started Riley was focused anywhere beside what movie when the lights went off. Lucas's body was so close that she was losing her mind with his cologne. Her eyes kept wandering back to the boy that had her stomach all in a twist. Lucas could feel the pair of eyes on him and slightly turned his head slightly not to draw attention. Riley nodded towards the hallway and mouthed follow me.

"I'll be right back," she stood up and glanced back towards Lucas before disappearing from the room. Lucas was torn, he must be seeing things, there's no other explanation. But if Riley wanted to talk, he was more than willing to do so.

"I'm going to get something to drink," he excused himself and started to head in the direction of the kitchen, but when he realized that everyone was glued to the movie, he headed in the direction the brunette went moments later.

"Riley," He whispered quietly. He rounded the corner and was taken by surprise when his back suddenly hit the wall and Riley's lips were on his. He was shocked, confused and elated all at once, and Riley took the moment to slide her tongue into his mouth and take control. She had spent so much time worrying about what would happen, but tonight that wasn't the case; she was eager to make up for lost time. She felt her heartrate quicken as his hands slid on either side of the her hips his touch setting her exposed skin from under her t-shirt on fire. This interaction was awaking a fire in both of them and Lucas knew that if he didn't pull back soon, he wouldn't be able to.

"Riley," She dreaded him pulling away, if he did that meant that they would have to talk about what was occurring in the present moment.

"Not now Lucas," Riley attached her lips back on his hungry than before. Lucas spun the two around so it was Riley's back against the wall, she jumped her legs wrapping around his torso.

"Riley," he murmured against her skin. Riley unwound her legs and stood back on the ground.

"What's going on Riles?" They rested their foreheads against each other, Riley's lips swollen from their previous activity. She opened her mouth wanting to tell him everything, about how her feelings and how she wanted to move forward with them when she was interrupted.

"Riley, where are you?" Farkle's voice yelled over the movie.

"We'll talk later."

"But,"-

"I promise." She turned on her heels and made her way back towards where everyone else was residing. She earned a smug smile from Maya to which she ignored until she turned her attention back to the entertainment. Lucas returned a few moments later with popcorn in hand that earned a snicker from Zay as he mumbled something about that taking too long.

If Riley was aware of Lucas's presence before, now she was in overdrive. She pulled the blanket further over her body pretending that she was cold. The fuzzy gray fabric provided comfort and cover in which her hand rested beside her. It only took a couple minutes before she felt a pinky finger graze her own. She looked over at Lucas and he offered a soft smile without taking his eyes off the screen. She checked to see if anyone was aware of what they were doing before slipping her hand into his under the blanket. Their hands laced together like it was the easiest thing in all the world, and a smile formed on her lips.

* * *

As the night continued with the movie marathon Riley's body had scooted close and close to Lucas's. By the end of the movie she was fast asleep using his body as a pillow. Lucas scooped her up in his arms with every intention to bring her to her bed for the night. She looked so peaceful in his arms not plagued by the things of the world; just how she should be. He was cautious on the stairs not to wake her, if anything he knew how she had ventured to becoming more of a night owl who barely got her rest. Once he reached her bed, he used one arm to quickly pull back the covers so she would be comfortable. She took to the bed quickly but made a sleepy moan at the slight transition.  
Lucas just glanced at her sleeping in front of him as her messy set of brunette curls were sprawled across the pillow. He didn't know much of anything anymore, Riley was different today, and he couldn't explain it. Their little make out session in the hall confused the situation even more; even though he knew he would repeat it in a heartbeat given the chance. Riley and his relationship had always been somewhat stable; he used to think that nothing could get in between that. His hand reached out to brush some hair that had fallen in her face.

"You better be careful with her Huckleberry, I don't want either of you to get burned." The words from Maya caused him to jump a little and he started to wonder how long she was there watching him. Instead of taking the opportunity to antagonize him further the blonde continued her way to her room and shut the door without another word. Lucas's eyes traveled back to Riley's sleeping figure and let out a small sigh. He hoped that everything would become clearer once they sat down and talked. He leaned in and placed a small kiss on her temple causing her to slightly stir at the pressure but not enough to wake up.

"Goodnight Riley, I love you." Those words felt good to say as he slipped down the stairs to retreat to his own room for the night.

* * *

 **A.n.- And that's where I'll end this one. This story is about to get really interesting. For one lucky reviewer I'll send you a piece of the next chapter. (if you are a guest there's no way I can do this, you might as well register, it's free. Thank you all for the support I'm getting, you all are most awesome than you know. Till next time.**


	9. Chapter 9 All in Love, All Got Hurt

**A.N. Happy Thursday! I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER THAT WILL BE RATED T. I will move it to M sometime next week. I'm super excited for everything that will come over the next couple chapters.**

* * *

 **We were all in love and we all got hurt**

A week had pasted since Smackle had decided to stop by and changed everything in the home. Maya walked out of her room to see Riley's bed empty; she was probably in a corner somewhere mouth attached to each other's lips. As much as Riley tried to be subtle, there was nothing that girl could do to hide her feelings from Lucas, she found it amusing that they think that no one knew what they were doing. She wished that they would just talk already, it would make a whole lot of things easier between everyone without tip toeing around egg shells.

Even more she wished that Riley would talk to her, it had been a week, a week of silence between the two, and it was almost unbearable. She thought that the brunette would talk to her by now, but that seemed like it wasn't happening any time soon. It felt like there was a void in her life and she knew it was because of Riley, they had always been thunder and lightning, but with just one element it made an incomplete storm. She passed by the deck that was overseeing the ocean and she felt her body freeze. Smackle and Farkle were talking, and there seemed to be something different between this and a normal conversation. Maya let her curiosity take over, and found a wall that she could hide behind and still could crack the door open to hear their conversation.

"Smackle you have yet to tell me why you are really here." It seemed that she hadn't told anyone the real reason that she was here. It had peaked her interest, she was interested in the trade of secrets.

"Farkle"- She had warned in a certain tone that she had reserved to

"No, we need to communicate, we always have been able to."

"I miss you Farkle," She placed her hand on his and watched as he flinched at her contact. She was unsure if it was because he no longer had any feelings for her, or that he wasn't uncomfortable around her anymore. Her eyebrows narrowed at his reaction and slightly moved her hand.

"Do you not miss me?" Obviously, he had thought about her, they had spent so much of their relationship in a healthy place. It was Smackle that made him question things further and explore these feelings that before he wasn't sure that he could even experience.

"Of course, I do." Isadora leaned in and gently connected her lips to his, and Maya was forced to turn away. She didn't need the imagine burned into her self-conscious. It was strange to even imagine that Farkle had feelings for her, why would he when he had basically the perfect match for him right before his eyes. She turned away to give them privacy, or so she didn't become sick she didn't know which.

This seemed to be a continuous pattern within her world that she didn't like. The guys that she liked always seemed more attracted to someone else. First Josh, and now Farkle. She hated to think there was a common denominator because the only thing in common in both scenarios was her. She needed answers, and the only way she was going to get them was by compromising her pride. Josh was most likely still staying at his friend's home and it was less than a mile away. She decided to forgo the truck so she could get some salt fresh air, but her pace was unmatched and determined. Taking a vehicle would only bring more questions from the people inside the home about her whereabouts, this way she could just sneak out and claim that she was walking on the beach. When she finally reached her destination, she had some form of doubts and hesitation, she wasn't sure that this was the best idea, and had thoughts about returning to the home and just hiding herself in her room. The imagine of Farkle and Smackle kissing chose that second to flash before her solidifying her resolve. She needed this, she told herself, otherwise she would always be that girl who was fun for a while but not to expect anything out of her. Josh had always been honest within their relationship, and despite the setbacks from the party, she knew that if she truly needed him, he would be there for her; because that was just who he was. He could be the answer for her question, because she knew she wouldn't receive the same answers from her genius friend. Josh would be straight forward and honest with her.

By the time, she had reached the doorway she had imaged turning around and just taking off in the direction of the home. She knew that he wouldn't be pleased to see her and part of the bargaining chip to getting her answers might be promising never to see him again, but even that was worth what she was hoping to find. Her hand stretched out and knocked on the bright red door and instantly regretted it, she knew that if they were anywhere near the door there wouldn't be time to hide, and even if there were her feet were frozen into place. The door swung open and her heart stopped beating but only for a second. Their eyes connected and she instantly fell into the place she was in middle school that he could reduce her to feeling helpless.

"Maya?" He questioned, his brows furrowed in place.

"Hi Josh." Her eyes broke contact for her mind to keep control over her mouth.

"Can we talk?"

* * *

"So, what's going on with you man, you seemed different all this week, so what is going on with you?" Lucas's head fell back as his eyes were fixed on the sky. He didn't realize that when Zay asked him to take a walk with him that it would mean that he would get interrogated by Zay of all people. He knew _why he was acting different, it was because he was bordering on going insane and being confused._

 _"Riley, what?"- He didn't get many words out as Riley's lips found his again. They had only so much time before the others would start looking at them, and judging by Riley's lead, she didn't want the others to know whatever they had yet. Her hands slipped under his shirt as her fingertips explored the skin that was forbidden from her for so long. Their mouths synced as his tongue slipped in her mouth seeking dominance. If they stopped and actual talked about what was occurring between them, it would make him feel better about what was happening. They were Riley and Lucas and that would never change but he would be lying to say that he didn't feel like the other women with all this sneaking around despite his adrenaline increasing from their activity._

 _He heard her moan into his mouth and that just fueled him further, as his grip tightened on her waist._

 _Their heated activities had to be put on hold when they heard footsteps descending the stairs, and they both froze._

 _"Go," she whispered softly as she pushed him in the direction of another door before he could even argue. It turns out that the door that he stumbled into was the kitchen in which Maya was frying an egg. She glanced once at his disheveled appearance and smirked saying everything that she needed to with her eyes._

 _"Not a word," he warned._

 _"I didn't say a word Huckleberry; however, you have already said more than I could." She pushed past him while nibbling on a piece of bacon. Lucas became flustered he didn't know if it was residual from what just occurred or from what she was implying, Maya didn't usually get to him, but his one button that could get him every time was Riley._

He must have a goofy grin on his face because next thing he knew Zay was waving his hand in front of his face.

"Earth of Lucas, come back to me," he teased. "You see this is what I'm talking about, where did you go just now."

"Just remembering something." He figured the less Zay knew the better, especially since of his track record of spilling the secrets among the group.

"It's Riley, isn't it?" Lucas's facial features gave away his secret, and Zay's smirk grew.

"It is!" Zay's eyes grew wide and he could barely control his excitement. Lucas held out his hands to quiet him although the people who were on the beach were more important with their own agenda on the shore.

"I don't know what is going on between us. It almost takes me back to our unofficial relationship back in high school."

"Well now all you have to do is not screw up." Lucas shrugged off Zay's hand on his shoulder. He was just starting to get Riley Matthews back in his life and he refused to allow her out of his life again.

* * *

Riley double checked before she opened Lucas's door to his bedroom. They hadn't told anyone about their little rendezvous in the corners and cracks of this place, and for now they intended to keep it that way. She smiled as she realized that even visiting, this room screamed of Lucas. She saw a veterinarian textbook to the side. At least he was following his dream, she made a mental note to talk to him later about what his school was like and when he was planning on graduating. She made herself comfortable on his bed to surprise Lucas when he would return, it seemed that they couldn't help themselves when they were alone together. It could be that they were purely making up for the time that life had robbed them or that they were addicted to each other; the taste of their lips and the comfort that they gave each other.

It seemed now that every time she closed her eyes her mind would grant her the pleasure of being somewhere always with him. Somewhere they could just be with each other. Each time her dreams got closure and closer to Lucas bringing her to ecstasy, but sadly she awoke before he would grant her that gift. These dreams just left her feeling incomplete when she met reality verses her fantasy. Every time she saw him during the day it made her want to recreate the perfection that was running through her head; she just needed more of him, was that so wrong?

Her thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone text alerts. Riley bit her lip, she wasn't the type of girl that would snoop through a significant other's things, but after the second tone, curiosity got the better of her. She unlocked his phone with ease because it seemed that he hadn't changed his password since senior year. But at the sight of the messages she wished that she hadn't.

 **Hey ;)  
Playing hard to get I see, alright I'll play**

The picture that was sent was more of this girl than she ever wished she would see. Her fingers scrolled up as her breaths started to become shallow at what she saw. There were more of them and between the dirty talk and the explicit photos that she sent, she felt like she was going to be sick. Whoever this girl was, she had texted Lucas over four times since they had arrived. She would just dismiss the texts, but there were times that he had answered back, not while they were there, but he had still encouraged the behavior. She threw his phone on his bed as she stood to her feet. Her mind was becoming foggy with thoughts and questions. If Lucas had another girlfriend, sure he would have told her, and the guy she knew would kiss her or have one of the make out sessions that they did without stopping and telling her. Her mind flashed back to the first hallway incident that occurred and the memory hit her because he did try and stop her that time. She felt like her insides were longing to be out of her body, she didn't think that she could face the blonde after what she knew. Or worse he would be able to make her forget about this other girl, and things would continue to be the way they were. She exited his room and ran upstairs to her own careful not to draw attention. She grabbed as many of her belongings that she bothered to remember, the only thing that her mind seemed to focus on was getting as far away from the situation as possible. She hesitated before picking up her best friend's car keys and making a bolt for the door.

She threw her bag in the vehicle convinced that Maya would support this decision if she knew everything; after all Maya did say that she could change her mind any time that she felt like it. She pushed down the thoughts of feeling played down as she started her way to escape. She only looked back once before stepping on the gas and merging into the street. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew that she needed the fresh air. Once she had cleared her mind she might be willing to return to the white house and all her secrets, but for right now it had proved to be nothing but trouble.

* * *

"What do you want Maya?" He would never imagine that Maya Hart would show up at his door, but that didn't stop the scenario from unfolding in front of him. She seemed much different from a couple nights ago, at the party, but that was always the way, it was only once she started drinking that any form of decision making process went out the window.

"Josh, please we need to talk." She didn't want to beg, that was beneath her she just needed answers; only ones that he could provide. Josh crossed his arms over his chest unsure of whether to believe her or not. He tended not to make the best choices when he was near her, but she looked so helpless standing in front of him; what harm would 5 minutes' hold?

"Five minutes," his defenses started to fall as he watched the joy spring up over her face as he stepped back to let her in. He led her to the couch where they sat down. Josh ran his down his legs and patted his knees.

"What is this all about Maya?" Maya's eyes fell to the ground; that certainly was the question, now wasn't it?

"Josh, what's wrong with me?" It had been a thought that hadn't left her mind for a while now. First it was with Josh, he didn't want her, but now Farkle would chose Isadora over a girl like her, the only conclusion that she had was there was something wrong with her.

"Maya, have you been drinking?"

"No Josh of course not. I need to know what's wrong with me." His eyebrows narrowed in confusion on why she would come to him about this.

"Nothing is wrong with you Maya. It's just"- He let out a breath in frustration.

"Then why didn't we work Josh?" He glanced at her in hesitation.

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?" There were some things that she didn't remember from that night, she didn't know judging by his reaction that she wanted but she still needed to know.

"After you stormed off, you found another guy and"- He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, but he didn't need to in this case. Maya couldn't look at him just imagining all the pain that she had caused him. No wonder no one wanted her, she managed to screw everything up every time.

"I'm sorry." It was probably one of first things that she was super proud of admitting over the last couple days. Josh blinked in confusion clearly not expecting the words from escaping from her lips.

"Maya, you don't"-

"Yes, Josh I do, as per usual I screwed everything up with you. I was in it for the long game and suddenly I threw it all away. I messed everything with you, Farkle, and Riley, no wonder everyone hates me."

"I don't hate you Maya," He avoided eye contact with the blonde he didn't know if it was for his benefit or for hers.

"Sometimes you mess up, yes, but there's always room to grow and change. Apologizing for your actions is a grown-up thing to do." He found the words harder to come by because he could feel her stare not leaving.

"Does that mean that you see me differently?"

"Maya," he breathed out. She was making this so much difficult for him then she probably imagined. Just her being this close was already taking a toll on him. He had to fight the urges that were bubbling up inside him.

"I just wanted to know if there was still a chance, but I guess that is just a silly notion." She attempted to get up, but Josh reached out and grabbed her wrist. The touch caused a flow of electricity to jolt between the two. Maya felt her knees grow weak which caused her to sit back down.

The silence fell between letting the words sink in, the healing of their relationship had begun. She had come here for answers, and even though he didn't provide the ones she needed, it was still something more than what she currently had.

"Maya," Josh's voice held a tremor, and her eyes snapped to his blue ones and a million what if questions started to race. It was almost as gravity held its course or they were just falling into their familiar ways. His lips traced hers ever so lightly making her pulse quicken. When he pulled back he rested his head against hers their breath intermingling.

"We shouldn't." Both knew that the words were correct, but something was preventing them from pulling away.

"I know." The affirmation wasn't enough to force enough the two away from each other, leading them closer to repeating the original mistake. The second time their lips collided it was needier as if they were lovers separated from each other by great periods of times. His hands worked his way up to her face cupping it needing more of what he had been craving over all these years. This was probably a bad idea, but for once, neither of them cared.

* * *

 **A.N.- Hides. So on one hand Joshaya shippers are happy, Rucas shippers, sorry. It couldn't be THAT easy, although there were hints of this throughout the story. Tell me what you think! Till next time.**


	10. Chapter 10 Going Way Too Fast

**A.N.- So here's the next chapter. It's crazy to think there's only 7-8 chapters left. I'll also say that all of you surprised me with your thoughts on the last chapter, so I'm eager to see what you think after this one. This chapter starts the M portion. Italics are flashbacks.**

* * *

 **I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat  
The smell of gasoline in the summer heat  
Boy, we're going way too fast  
It's all too sweet to last**

Of all the places, she could go, one of the place that offered quiet and assurance that she wouldn't be disturbed were the cars outside. The car was unlocked and she crawled inside and pulled her legs to her chest. The space inside was quiet and offered some peace She didn't expect her visit with Josh go the way that it did, and now she felt more confused. When she got around Josh it made sense that she lost control, he was her first love, but did that mean she didn't harbor any more feelings towards Farkle?

 _Maya felt the breath knocked out of her as her back hit the wall. She didn't even know how they got in this position that they were in she was more focused on his lips experiencing every part of her body. Her shirt was laying on the floor somewhere paired with his in the heat of the moment. Small moans escaped her lips as Josh's lips worshiped the exposed skin like it was what sustained him. He made his way down her body making sure he stopped to make sure that paid special attention the mounds of flesh adorning her chest. When he heard her gasp, he couldn't help but smirk into another kiss. Maya's hands were lost in the raven hair and the lower he got on her body the less she was sure she could keep control of herself. He gently placed a kiss right above the jeans she was wearing. His hand unbuttoned the jeans and forced them down to give him better access to the garment that was the only thing between him and where she wanted him to be._

 _"Josh," she whimpered in desperation. Why would he be so cruel to get her on this type of high and not satisfy._

 _"I want you." His lips reunited with her in a searing kiss. She jumped and latched her legs around his slim torso. Even through the fabric of his jeans she could feel how much he needed her too. She heard Josh click his tongue in a disapproving manner._

 _"The long game, remember Maya." He wrapped his arms around her as his mouth met at the base of her neck. He spun her so her body clung tightly to his not having the support from the wall. In a matter of minutes the two fell on Josh's bed. Josh grunted and Maya giggled. His blue eyes searched hers as she laid underneath him in just her underwear and him in his jeans. His fingers gingerly stroked her blonde hair in almost awe._

Long game, she scoffed; exactly how long was the long game. She was never very good with orders or instructions. She just wanted to be told exactly when the long game would be over. Would it be a couple years from now that they would finally get together or when they were even older. It seemed that both were playing the long game with no idea of when fate would bring them together. She wanted to believe they would but they made that promise a long time ago, and what if fate was so cruel that this was all they would get. Josh would graduate college in the fall and then what, he would be open to the world of opportunities, she couldn't cage him like a bird holding him there, he needed to be free and take photographs that took the world's breath away. She would hate it if he put limitations on her, she couldn't bear to do the same. They needed to come together, what was it; on their own time and accord for their relationship to work.

 _"Maya,"- his voice caught and he paused. There was so much that he wanted to tell her, but she stopped any thought with a kiss._

 _"Stop overthinking. I want this, I want you." While her lips were distracting him, her hands reached the unbuckle his jeans leveling the playing field. She slipped her hand into his boxers and talking was done as the two let desire take control. Their lips smashed together and melded as one. Josh used his free hand to strip Maya of the only fabric that was still clinging to her body. Just by a single touch she spread her thigh wide to allow him better access to her core, and shuttered as he dipped his hand within in._

" _Josh." Her voice was strained at best, she didn't think that she could hold out much longer. He positioned himself at her entrance and with a single thrust he buried himself inside her. She was glad that Josh's roommate wasn't home, because her cries of ecstasy were ever growing with each thrust. Their bodies moved together as both were nearing their peak. Their breaths were short and intermingling with each other as their bodies became one. The sense of pleasure rippled through her body and instantly wanted to go for another round and feel that high again that it seemed that only Josh have given her with all the people had been with. Josh's body draped next to her dripping in sweat._

 _"Maya, what just happened?" Josh asked_

 _"I don't know, but I want to do it again," her fingers traced shapes on his chest._

 _"Maya I'm serious, what does this mean for us?" It was a question that she wasn't sure she knew the answer to his question._

 _"It means we are playing the long game."_

Farkle had always been there for her, throughout the years and all her mistakes. Farkle had told her once that he would always be on her side. He believed in no matter what she did, he always he always saw the best of her. Maybe if she would have done things differently then she wouldn't be in the mess that she was currently in. She needed advice, she was over her head here, the only person who usually grounded her. Her eyes glanced and realized that her car was gone; the only one who knew where the keys was Riley. She got out of the car and made her was up to their rooms. Sudden panic started to rise as she remembered her promise that she could leave anytime she wanted. Her room looked like most of her things were packed up and gone.

"Riley," she whispered. She ran down the starts starting to shout her name, her other situation was pushed to the back burner. Smackle and Farkle ran out of his room and it was just in time to see Lucas come in from the beach.

"You!" The venom dripped from her tone as she narrowed in on the blonde.

"What did you do to her?" She ran towards him, but never got to lay a hand on Lucas because Farkle wrapped his arms around her waist stopping him.

"What the hell Maya? What are you talking about?" He was just on walk on the beach with Zay, who was currently on the phone with his family out on the beach.

"She's gone Lucas, the only reason she would have done something like that is if something happened between the two of you." Lucas's eyes widened in shock, and it wasn't till then that he realized that something was terribly wrong.

"What?" He rushed up to Riley's room to find it abandoned, it was like she was never there at all. What happened to her, the last time that he had checked they were fine. He retreated to his room and that was when he saw it, his phone. He let out a groan as he threw the phone and the messages from Veronica onto his bed. He secretly knew that this would bite him in the butt, why couldn't they just talked? He emerged from his room just in time for their plan.

"We only have one car, we need to go out to find her."

"I know you don't like him Maya, but I think that we should call Josh"- Fakle hadn't seen her react like this when it came to Riley's uncle. Normally she would be all on board to bring him into the situation.

"No," Maya snapped without a second thought. His eyebrows narrowed in confusion. Was this still this because of what happened between the two at the party?

"But Maya, Farkle started to protest. She had to be able to see the common sense, if they got more people involved then they could find her best friend faster. "He is Riley's Uncle, and I'm sure he would help us"-

"I said no, Farkle." Maya's voice rose causing a silence to stun the group as they started coming up with another plan that didn't involve Josh aiding in their quest. She couldn't bring herself to see him right now, she still needed to figure out what the hell occurred between them. And there was a chance that the others would see that something happened, and then she would have to face any of their questions that even she didn't have the answers to herself.

"Well we need someone to go and someone to wait here in case she comes back." If they all left she could be alone with her thoughts and hopefully figure out solutions.

"You three go, I'll stay behind, and wait for her," she volunteered in a heartbeat that earned some stares from the others.

"No, Maya you should go, you are her best friend. She needs you"- Farkle wouldn't let this go, he knew that whatever was brewing between the girls needed to be talked about to be fixed. They wouldn't be able to discuss the problem if they weren't talking or if she stayed behind.

"She doesn't need me," Her voice rang out as her eyes fell to the floor in slight embarrassment. "Right now, she barely wants to talk to me."

"Maya I'm not leaving you behind, Riley needs you whether you see it or not."

There was only one thought that was running through his mind and it was that he needed to find Riley. He had only pieced together what he feared might happened, but when he unlocked his phone it only confirmed his fears to what had happened. He couldn't help but feel that he was the cause of Riley running away.

The text messages in question were from his ex- girlfriend who had tried for the better half of a month to get back together with him. Her attempts were usually ignored, but this time serious damage had been done. He knew that Veronica was a mistake, but it was one of those times where he didn't realize that till it was too late. He was in a dark place when they had met and chose to let certain red flags slide and decided to date her for almost a year but everything fell apart. She was gorgeous, no one could deny that, but what she lacked was heart. She didn't have that calming effect that Riley always provided him, to which his sub conscious would remind him that Riley wasn't an option.

He had tried to tell her so many times over the week, but the only communication that had occurred was her lips on his. Riley had this effect over him that as soon as they were kissing any other thoughts faded, now Riley had a miscommunication that might have cost him the girl. It seemed like he was just starting to rekindle what they had just in time to screw it up.

His eyes narrowed, he needed to do something, anything; the last thing that he wanted was to just sit here and wait for Riley to come back, if she came back. He wasn't thinking when he ran into the house or using logic, he just knew that he needed to find her and explain that everything was just a misunderstanding. He knew exactly where Farkle kept his car keys and he wasn't going stand and wait for Maya and Farkle to finish whatever they were arguing about to go and find her. He didn't even look back when he sped from the driveway, Farkle would understand that time was of the essence, and he wouldn't stop before he found her safe and sound.

* * *

It had been good solid two hours of exploring different parts of the city and allowing her mind to get lost with the traffic and the sights. For only a moment she allowed to be distracted and not focused on the blonde boy.

She just wanted the Lucas that she knew back, the guy that she fell in love with in high school, but she could never un-see those text messages. She didn't expect for him to wait, that wasn't fair of her to ask him, but she did secretly hope that he would. Was it so crazy to hope that he didn't date anyone serious like she did because she knew that they wouldn't live up to each other, but apparently, Lucas had another opinion.

A light started to blink on her dash and Riley cursed under her breath. She was in the middle of nowhere, she wasn't even sure that she would be able to walk anywhere to get help even if she even needed to. She managed to pull off the road safely, but that still didn't help her situation any. She tried to turn the key over to no avail. She rested her head on the steering wheel, she didn't know exactly where she was about Farkle's house and she didn't know how she would get back. It wasn't like she could just leave the car and hitch hike back to a familiar area. She pulled out her phone, which she was more charged, but she left it off the charger the previous night, so she had maybe 30 percent left on it. There weren't too many people she could call, she didn't want to talk to Maya right now, Farkle wouldn't be able to fix Maya's car, that only left... She refused to call him. She knew that he would know how to fix the car, but then she would have to face him. She bit her lip in hesitation, she really didn't want to deal with this right now, but it seemed liked this was her only option. The rings felt like they went on forever, maybe if she was lucky he wouldn't answer.

"Hello?"

"Lucas?"

* * *

 **A.N.- So, I'll leave it there. Told you that it was rated M. So things are about to get interesting, it wouldn't much of a story if things worked out so easily. Let me know your thoughts, fears, hopes for this chapter and the ones to come. Till next time.**


	11. Chapter 11 Put Myself in his Hands

**A.N.- You all have blown me away with the support that you offer. I do smile at the reviews that you all leave, but I figured I would address something. Assumptions will just lead you tobe mislead in your story. Some of you get where I'm going with the story and some of you are WAY off. Just try and enjoy the story for what it is. I know Maya is not a very likeable character right now, but please give her a chance to redeem herself, the story isn't over yet.**

* * *

 **It's alright  
And I put myself in his hands  
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses**

Zay found that the ocean waves in the background had a calming effect on his soul. Even though the beaches didn't match the ones in Florida or any other tourist destination, it was still different than what he was used to in Texas, and he welcomed the change. Lucas had gone inside, no doubt to suck face with Riley, and he had to grin. With his time alone, he managed to take advantage of the opportunity to check in with his family; he was a middle child, it was in his nature. His father was almost never around and his older brother had moved out of the state, he was next oldest so he had to assume responsibility.

His mother almost had to force him to come to this trip, he didn't want to leave her alone with the two kids at home, but then she said something about having fun during these years of his life and if he didn't he would come to regret it. After several more minutes of protesting his mother stated that he was going and that was the end of the discussion and he learn a while back not to disagree with his mother. After a couple rings, it was his mother's voice that brought a smile to his lips.

"Please tell me you're not ruining your mini vacation, by calling me."

"Now what kind of son would I be if I didn't call and wish his own Mother a happy birthday?"

"Forgetful because you are enjoying yourself," she answered with a hint of mischief. Zay heard voices trying to overpower his mother's voice causing him to smile.

"Someone misses you; do you want to say hi?" Even though it was a nice get away for someone who had to burn midnight oil just to get his homework done because he was taking care of his younger siblings during the day, he missed them.

"Put him on."

"Hi Zay," the single voice brought pride to swell up his heart; it belonged to the youngest, named Caiden totaling at the age of 5.

"Hey buddy; are you being a good little boy for your mom?" He heard a noise that resembled an affirming statement.

"Well give Mama a kiss." He heard the little one act accordingly knowing that it meant the world to his mom.

"I'll be back soon bud and I'll treat you to some ice cream." The frosty treat was used on many occasions to bribe the younger ones into behaving. Zay hated the day when that wouldn't be good enough for them.

"Ice cream, ice cream!" The phone shifted from Caiden back to his mom.

"I hope you have a good time, the last two weeks will fly by." As much as he would hate to admit it, he knew that she was right. When he got back he knew that there were mounds of school work that he wanted to tackle before the next semester started.

"Will do, love you."

"Love you too Zay." He hung up the phone just in time to see a text message from Casey, which continued a reason to smile.

 **Hey**

They had been talking on and off since the party trying to learn more about each other, and the more time they spent talking the more he found that his stomach was in knots whenever they talk. He texted back a greeting followed by emoticon.

It turned out that Casey didn't go to school too far from him, so even once summer grew to a close they were still able to carry on, whatever this was between them. She was studying to be a teacher and she loved spending time with little kids.

 **What are you thinking about?**

 **You** , he answered without a second thought. He didn't care if she thought it was dorky, it was the truth.

 **Oh?** Apparently, she didn't know how to respond. Zay on the other hand knew exactly what he was going to say, he had been too nervous to take the plunge, but he figured that he might at least try.

 **What are you doing tomorrow?** It seemed like forever for her to reply. He couldn't have torn his eyes off the screen even if one of the houses along the beach caught fire.

 **What did you have in mind?**

 **You'll have to wait to find out. I can pick you up around 6.** It would give him the day to make the plans to give Casey a night that she would remember for days perhaps even weeks to come.

 **Can't wait.**

He shoved the phone in his pocket and made his way towards the house, but he didn't expect to see the scene unfold in front of him. Maya and Farkle were arguing with one another in the kitchen along with Isadora making comments backing up Farkle when she saw fit, but his best friend was nowhere to be seen. Zay check every spot he could think of including Lucas's room, Riley's room, the closet upstairs that everyone seemed to forget about and each room provided less clues than the previous. His wheels started to turn as he put the pieces together. He walked down the stairs the noise from the squabble growing louder and he leaned up against the entrance way to the kitchen.

"You all know that Lucas left with the car already, right?"

* * *

Riley was just sitting in her car waiting for Lucas to show up she wasn't sure it was the best idea to call him. She gave the best direction she knew how, but even then, there was no guarantee that he would find her. She rested her head back against the headrest only to have the picture of the girl on Lucas's phone burned into her skull. Her eyes shot back open desperate to see anything but that. She still wondered how he never told her about this other girl. Just the thought of Lucas with another girl made her nauseous, but she couldn't expect just to wait around for her, that fate would bring them back together. That was almost too much for even her to believe in over the years, just the fact that they met at the same beach house was defying the odds. There were no such coincidences in the universe, so maybe this was fate giving them a second chance; despite the odds.

Riley didn't have much time to think through all her thoughts when Farkle's car pulled up and Lucas stepped out.

"Riley, what's going"- She stepped out of her own vehicle, she just needed his expertise, they didn't need to talk about the other stuff. She needed her car to work so she could drive home, but she doubted if she told him that he would be less inclined to help she would imagine.

"Please Lucas, just look at the car." She didn't mean to have her words be almost begging, their eyes connected and there was a separate conversation between the two of the them. Lucas taken back by her tone, he knew that if he didn't at least to try and do something, he would lose her.

"Whatever you say," His lips pulled back in a boyish grin that he knew still made her knees weak. She seemed unfazed with the little act as he lifted the hood of the car. still trying to charm her. It seemed that he was looking at the car longer than necessary, Riley had glanced over in his direction at least three times and was caught by the meadow stare that always seemed to trap her.

"It's the alternator." He closes the hood, and leaned on her driver door wiping the dirt on his jeans. "You'll have to get it towed." There wasn't much that he could do without the proper tools, but he was hoping that he could take the time to talk to her about everything they were avoiding this past week.

"Thank you, Lucas, I got it from here." Her tone made him do a double take as if she was making a business deal, or dealing with someone who she didn't know fondly. It was almost as if he was watching the sunshine slowly starting to die.

"What do you mean?" Confusion in his voice matched the look on his face.

"I have the tow truck on the way, so I can just wait for him." She wanted him to go?

"You can't expect me just to leave you here all alone and wait for the tow truck, no I'm staying with you." A slight panic started to rise in her chest, there was no way of telling what would happen between them. Eventually he would realize that she didn't call any tow truck, but she could right after he left on her remaining battery power.

"Lucas I'm perfectly fine waiting alone, I'm not a little girl anymore." They were out in the middle of nowhere; it wasn't likely that something bad would happen to her.

"I didn't say you were, Riley why won't you talk to me?" He didn't understand why she was acting this way, they had always been good at communicating, but now it seems they had hit a brick wall.

"Oh, now you want to talk?" Riley threw her hands up in the air in exasperation; at her words Lucas's body jumped off the car.

"I've been trying to talk to you all week, but you wouldn't let me." He didn't want to shout, but her words brought out frustration and it was starting to creep through the cracks.

"You could have tried harder!" She didn't know what else to say to him. Whether he tried harder to stop their make out sessions in the hallways, that didn't necessary mean they would talk. But despite his effort, she was standing there in front of him with her big doe eyes and all he wanted to do was anything that would make this situation better.

"Just stop it," he snapped in frustration and Riley flinched.

"Stop what?" She asked haughtily.

"Stop batting your eyes at me like that."

"Well stop leading me on."

"Stop making me want your approval," he shouted all his patience leaving his body. Her eyes widen, she never asked for him to beg for her approval. If anything this situation was worse now that he had to swoop in and play hero for her. It was things like this

"Stop being there for you when I need you," She raised her voice back. The more he was there for her the harder it was to figure out what was going on between the two of them.

"What's going on Riley, one minute you're at the home and the next you're running away without telling anyone that's not like you."

"Well maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do." The words slipped out, and there was nothing she could do to take them back.

"Riley"- This wasn't going at all how he had planned. He wanted to step in and be the hero of the story and show Riley how much he cared.

"I know, ok? I know about Vivian or Veronica, I didn't mean to, I was in your room trying to surprise you, and then I just saw it." He felt his worst fear coming true as he watched tears started to weld in her eyes, but despite that she was still just as beautiful. "I thought that fate had decided to bring us back together, but now I'm not sure. So, I'm asking you now, who is she?" He knew that they would have to have this discussion eventually, so he let out a sigh.

"She is my ex-girlfriend." Riley found herself rolling her eyes, of course they went out, why wouldn't he; she was gorgeous. It was a fear that lived deep down inside her that she wasn't the right one to be with Lucas, and this only confirmed it; he deserved to be with someone who looked like they just got off a runway, not a girl who suggested that they watch cuddle bunnies in their Saturday comfy clothes. It still hurt to know that he seemed to give up on them and she was the poor sap that tried to hold on.

"I started going out with her last year, and at first it started out great," She wanted to tune out his words, she didn't need to know what their relationship was like, she already had a good guess. Riley would never describe herself as a jealous person, but in this instance, she found herself wishing that Lucas had never met this other girl.

"That was what you meant in the drinking game," Everything was starting to click. Of course, he was trying to protect her, but after a year in a serious relationship, how could he not have been with Veronica.

"Riley, you need to listen," he was hoping that she wouldn't catch on to that, but she needed to know the truth, and not whatever her mind came up with.

"I'm pretty sure I can tell where this was going, Veronica's text filled in a lot of blanks." Her imagination played several scenarios in her mind, all of which made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Riley," He tried to explain again, but she interrupted again.

"No, Lucas, you really don't need to"- Her words were suddenly cut off by Lucas stepping very much into her space his hands clinging to the side of her face. She let out a gasp of surprise initially and then as she realized how close they were, her heart rate quickened. His eyes flickered down to her lips and then back up to her eyes.

"I never slept with Veronica," with those words it made her heart stop and start again all at the same time.

"But the messages," she rambled still trying to gain answers despite how her head was spinning because her scent had reached her nostrils.

"I tried…but I couldn't." The space between them decreased as he placed what started out as a gentle kiss on her lips, at first taste of him she needed more. She started to wrap her arms around his neck bringing their bodies closer. The two didn't even notice when the first drop of summer rain began to fall.

* * *

The three stopped mid argument and turned their attention to their friend who had inserted himself into the whole mess. Maya released a scoff in disbelief, "Ranger Rick wouldn't do that." Farkle ran over to the window and pulled back the curtain to reveal an empty driveway.

"Maybe he would." All of them knew what lengths the Texan would go when it came to the pretty brunette; he had proven it over and over again.

"I could get our family car over her, or a taxi."

"It was Lucas's fault that she ran away in the first place. I want to be there for her as much as you do, but this is something hopalong has to fix." She knew this was hard for him, but their relationships had shifted along with their priorities and she knew in order for Lucas and Riley to flourish, she would have to step back, even if it was just a little bit. She couldn't interfere with their relationship, just like an animal hatching out of an egg bracing a new world, their relationship was new, and they couldn't have any outside help.

Any rebuttal that Farkle had up his sleeve was stopped when Maya's phone lit up with Lucas's name present on the screen.

 **Riley called, she's safe, going and getting her**

The words provided more relief than any of them knew. Maya's blue eyes jumped up to meet Farkle's and she suddenly felt a lump start to grow inside her throat.

"He found her." The fight between them now seemed silly, but they had their pride to hang on to holding the rift that was in there.

"That's great." All lackluster was missing from his voice before he turned to Zay and offered to play some video games with him. Zay's eyes jumped from Farkle to Maya, who despite looking sulky, nodded giving him permission. Maybe Zay would be able to offer some insight to the genius, because she couldn't figure out what got him all flustered.

The boys left leaving the girls just standing there, Maya's eyes jumped to Isadora's for a second, gave her a polite smile before headed up to her room.

Isadora sighed watching everything unfold before his eyes. It didn't take a genius to realize that there was so much tension flowing through the house, she wish she knew what was going on. She trusted Zay to talk to Farkle, it would probably only complicate things even more if she went and spoke to him considering their history. So she climbed up the stairs and when she saw Maya hugging her knees staring out to what she could only assume was the bay window for the girls.

"Maya," She spoke softly not wanting to catch her off guard. The electric blue bolted up to reveal that she was almost on the verge of tears.

At the sight of Smackle Maya did everything she could to try and stop the tears from overflowing. She didn't reveal much of her emotion to anyone except Riley, but she knew it was bad when Smackle could tell that something was seriously wrong with her.

"Yes." Her friendship with Isadora was never that strong, but if anything that could change with the simplest conversation.

"I don't mean to disturb you," she was hesitant with her words knowing that she was walking on egg shells around the blonde. "But I was wondering if we could talk." The question hung in the air just waiting of her response. Maya tried to smile the best she could and then patted the spot next to her on the bench. Even though the bay window was Riley and her special place, the healing power of conversation was open to all.

* * *

 **A.N.- Just deal with me on this. Enjoy the story. Trust me my muses have already changed the story 3-4 times on my already and I'm writing the thing. Please let me know what you think! Oh and I might not update by next Thursday, I'll do my best but right now I'm trying to play catch up. Till next time!**


	12. Chapter 12 Ignites in my Veins

**A.N.- Thank you so much for the support you all provide. I'm so thankful for everything you all do. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Love, or something ignites in my veins,  
and I pray it never fades in white houses**

"Maya I think it's only appropriate that we address the elephant in the room." Isadora was never one for subtle, so it shouldn't have surprised Maya that she didn't start with any small talk.

"Smackle I don't know"-

"Maya, I know you're hiding your feelings for someone." There was no way that she could know about her feelings for Farkle, she had been so careful.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The best move that she could do was deny anything, that was one of her first lessons that she learned when she was younger

"Maya even though I'm not as connected with other's emotions as much as I should be, I'm not an incompetent. If I can be bold enough to speak"- This conversation was going in a different direction that Maya was anticipating.

"Don't make the same mistake that I did." Maya's brow furrowed just listening to the raven hair girl, Farkle make it seem like everything was mutual or if anything Isadora was the one who broke up with him.

"What happened Smackle?" Farkle would tell her that she would need to gather all the evidence before concluding and that's what she was doing, she just hoped that she would talk to her.

"We started out strong at the beginning of our freshman year despite the difference." Her eyes fell to the bay window seat before continuing.

"Then slowly we started to drift a part little by little, not all at once after all he had his projects that he was working on at mine. We started to talk less and tried to rationalize it away instead of seeing the cracks in our foundation. I then met a guy named Theo, he was helping me with my project for my freshman year that was worth big portion of my final grade." Maya was trying to grasp what she was saying, the name Theo made her start to question that what was his role on this. Isadora loved Farkle, there was no way that she would chat on him.

"Smackle, tell me you didn't"-

"No, not while we were dating anyway, Theo and I had a professional relationship. Then one day Farkle and I had a fight, I can't even remember what it was about, but he sat and listened to me." Guilt was dripping off her body and the blonde knew that this wasn't easy for her to share.

"He revealed that he had feelings for me, and I told him that I was in a relationship which he respected. I couldn't switch out him as my partner but we continued the work. I found myself wanting to spend more time with Theo and my thoughts Farkle fade more than it should of. I got to a point where I concluded that I needed to attempt another relationship without Farkle to know if it was the right choice, so I ended things." Tears started to stream down her face.

"I waited a couple months before I accepted his proposal to take me out and then I started to court Theo." Her words left Maya to wonder why she would give a good guy like Farkle to look elsewhere?

"We dated for a year, and then I ended things. I came back here to patch things with Farkle, but something is different about him." Her fingers started to fidget with her skirt.

"So, don't give up on Josh just yet." The blonde's eyes widened at just the boy's name, how could Smackle know anything about what happened with her former flame.

"Josh?" she stuttered. If Smackle could see that there were still lingering feelings, there then it was a pretty good bet that the house did as well.

"Maya?" Isadora's voice interrupted her from her own thoughts.

"Yeah, Josh." It provided the raven-haired girl the assurance that she needed. Before she was willing to talk to Josh, she had to talk to Farkle. The fact that Farkle had just told her a glimpse of what happened between the two of them worried her. It wasn't because she potentially had feelings for the genius because he was first and foremost her friend.

Maya took a deep breath the courage but she felt that feeling start to dwindle the second that her eyes laid on the genius. Farkle looked up from his video games for a mere second before his eyes returned to the screen. He was still mad at the blonde, she had given up on her friendship with Riley in a manner of speaking, he was partly angry on Riley's behalf.

Maya leaned against the doorway trying to keep her cool demeanor on the outside. The contact that they had shared was brief but it told her everything that she needed to know. Sure, they had fights every now and then, but this fight was different from anything that they had fought about.

"Where's Zay?" All intimidation was stripped from her voice just leaving a vulnerable girl standing in front of her best friend.

"He's on his date with Casey." His thumbs violently tapped the controller trying to kill everything in his path to get to the next check point.

"Oh." The blue eyes hit the ground, she was really hoping for Zay to be there to help cushion something; ever since they had been in the close quarters with each other it seemed like that they had devolved as friends and couldn't even speak to each other without it being awkward. She had Farkle in her life since they were in first grade; he had been her husband twice, if anything their relationship should be stronger. The silence grew unbearable and the blonde let out a huge sigh.

"Farkle, we need to talk." He didn't want to have this conversation, especially with her. If she could give up on Riley that easily what was to say that she would give up on him. She was his moon, the mystery was still there, he feared he would never truly understand the blonde, but he knew that a lifetime would pass before he would even begin to understand. Yes, she hurt Riley, and he hated to see the effects that lingered with the brunette but what his mind irrationally converted her statement was that she gave up on him. He couldn't ignore the fact that everything was different since Smackle had arrived. The genius knew that right now when their emotions were at a high was not the time to clear the air between them.

"Why, you have made your point very clear." The hostility in his voice was projected, but she wasn't sure how much of that was from frustration from the game.

"That's what you're mad about?" She walked towards him and in the process walked in front of the screen.

"Move Maya," he barked.

"Not till we talk; Isadora told me what happened." The game was paused in seconds as Farkle now looked like a deer in headlights more than anything. He set down the controller and motioned for her to join him on the couch. Maya's hands ran down her pant leg trying to gather together her thoughts, all of which she could feel Farkle's eyes not leaving her and suddenly she wished he was busy with his video game again.

"What did she tell you?" Maya watched as Farkle wince as she asked the question. She didn't want to pry, but in situations like this it was important for them to have the truth between them.

"More than you did," she countered quickly. A silence settled between the two as their eyes did more of the talking than their words.

"Farkle she's here to win you back." A queasy feeling rushed in her stomach, even though her feelings for Farkle were relatively true, back in high school they were perfect for each other so she needed to give them a chance to work stuff out, he deserved happiness.

"I know." His words came as a surprised and made her eyes snap to his once more. No wonder they seemed buddy-buddy over the last week.

"When are you going to make your move?" She wanted to make an excuse out of the house, it would be better that way for everyone.

"I'm not." Anger started to boil up, he was taking the perfect opportunity to make amends with Isadora and it was almost as if he was throwing it away. Isadora was smart, kind, driven and she held lots of the same interests as Farkle, and he was choosing to ignore it.

"Why can't you be with someone else who's perfect for you?" She needed him to at least try with Smackle, despite her new feelings. She didn't even know what she was feeling for him, and all she had known was Farkle's fondness for Isadora. He was making no sense with the answers he was providing.

"Because no other girl in the world compares to you." His eyes widened when the words flew out of his mouth. Maya's mouth dropped slightly agape completely thrown off. She was not expecting him to say that; she was a mess. She was sure that most girls in the world would win a competition about who had their life together more than she did.

"Oh yeah?" It wasn't her usually menacing response.

"Kind of hard to believe huh." Farkle took her reply as a hopeful sign and rested his forehead against hers, both now fully aware of their proximity to each other.

Maya's eyes fell from his eyes to his lips as thoughts of what it would be like that if she leaned ever so close and closed the gap, their proximity would make it close enough. Her eyes fluttered close as Farkle's nose traced one side of her face and came down on the right side while maintaining their distance. She didn't know when they had crossed the line from friends to something more, but in the moment, she couldn't imagine a life without the genius in any capacity. She was losing some of her thoughts when she felt his hot breath radiating onto her skin. He closed the gap after he decided that he couldn't wait anymore, his lips were soft, the kiss was gentle maybe even fearful.

They separated for a split second as they were trying to process what had just happened between them. They had kissed on the hand, nose, cheek, but this was a different experience.

"Well at least you're not on the floor," she teased lightly. Her mind tried to make sense of what happened, it was a much different feeling than when she kissed Josh, but she couldn't put her finger on why. She leaned in again to see if it was just first kiss jitters. His hand started to run through her hair as they started to deepen the kiss.

 _The lips on hers were almost enough to forget what happened ten minutes ago, at the base of the stairs. Josh and she had never fought like that before, she didn't want to leave him like that but she had something to prove and her pride got in the way sometimes. She never thought that their relationship would be over; they were supposed to be playing the long game. Maya had never been the kind of girl that pulled random strangers into a room for a make out session, one of the ways she even got this far was the room was dark enough for her to pretend that it was Josh's hand that was slowly inching up her thigh. All she wanted was to be loved, was that so wrong?_

 _The guy had moved to her neck and started to bit and suck as he started to get more aggressive, but Maya didn't seem to notice, her mind was elsewhere on Josh's words. If he thought that was a kid after all these years there wasn't much that she could do to change his mind, but going and making out with a random stranger would not strengthened anyway._

" _I can't do this." Maya stood up from her spot on the bed leaving the guy wanting more._

" _Wait-what?"_

" _I'm sure you're a good guy and all." She looked for anything that she left in the room. "But I'm not into good guys." She wasn't into good guys; she was interested in people that challenge her, like Josh. As soon as she stepped foot in the doorway the blaring sound of the music greeted her. How was she supposed to find Josh in this big of a crowd? At this point she would just settle for finding someone that even seemed familiar. The crowd seemed to part almost like it was guiding her to Andrew, Josh's roommate who was currently sucking face with his recently acquired girlfriend._

 _"Have you seen Josh?" She didn't know if he could hear over the loud music when she could barely hear herself. Instead of answering the blonde he seemed more fascinated with his girlfriend's lips and thoughts of what she would do to him when they were alone. Anger and frustration started to boil up and Maya grabbed him forcing the lovebirds to get air._

 _"Have you seen Josh?" She repeated for what seemed like the fifth time in five minutes_

 _"He doesn't want to see you." The words gutted her. There wasn't a time that she could remember Josh never wanting to see her._

 _"Now, where were we?" He asked the girl and their mouths reconnected. Maya grabbed her phone out of her purse and hit the speed dial._

 _"Please answer." She didn't want anyone to love her she wanted Josh to. It clicked to voicemail and she felt her heart drop. It was better than nothing._

 _"Josh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I know I screw everything up but I don't want to give up on us. If you think you could ever forgive me, please call me." The beep prevented her from continuing. Her gut instinct was to call Riley only to remember that she was on a date. She had made great strides to get over Lucas and she was nothing but proud of her. The last thing she wanted was to drag her through the mud. Her arm dropped to her side as the reality of the evening hit her, it seemed like the long game got a whole lot shorter. She returned to her home and potentially drowned her night with what alcohol remained in her room._

Maya's eyes widened and then the kiss was shattered by the sound of the doorbell broke the two apart.

"Riley?" She didn't want to admit what just happened, but it did fill in the holes in her memory. Maya stood up leaving her best friend behind to go the door in hopes that it would be a certain brunette returning home. She swung open the door with full intentions to make up with Riley in the bay window and let her make sense of everything that happened between the boys. Behind the door was not the lovable sunshine that she knew and loved but rather a tall lean dark haired boy with eyes that made her knees go weak.

"Josh?"

She closed the door in a panic knowing full well that it would not cause Matthews to disappear on the other side of the door. This couldn't be happening, he couldn't be here, she wasn't ready to explain to the others what had occurred between them with the group. She knew that she couldn't hide it anymore, someone would come and ask who was at the door. She opened it again soberer and grounded with questions racing in her mind.

"What are you doing here?"

"Better question, why did you slam the door in my face?" He stepped right past her but in doing so set her body on high alert with his proximity. If she closed her eyes she was sure that she would re-live some of their time together from earlier.

"Josh, what are you doing here?" Someone had to tell him about Riley, that was the only thing that could possibly make sense.

"Is there a problem Maya," his face leaned close to her making her breath hitch. Anger was starting to bubble over because there was no way that he didn't know what he was doing to her and he seemed to enjoy it way too much.

"I said what are you doing here"

"Farkle told me about Riley, I came straight over." The blood rushed out of her face at his words. She had told Farkle very sternly she might add that she wanted Josh nowhere near this situation and he went behind her back.

"Josh, glad you came over, I was wondering if we can borrow your car and go out looking for Riley." Maya felt her body tense even more at the other male voice who had intruded on their conversation. Maya threw daggers at Farkle, she had a right to be mad, she felt betrayed by one of her best friend. Was this his plan all along?

"Wait, just stop." Both boys who were previously heading towards the door stopped and turned to meet her cold blue eyes.

* * *

"I'm so sorry Casey," this date had been anything but what he pictured. He had heard from Farkle that an excellent date place was the boardwalk, but ever since they got here everything had gone horribly wrong. At first, they had tried to go rollerblading, but as they were skating his blade caught a chunk of the sidewalk and he flew forwarded. Not only did he scrap some skin on his leg, when he tried to maneuver his body he landed on his leg wrong. It took a couple minutes for him to stand up and even then. he had to take off his skates and hobble to the desk to return his. Casey had tried not to laugh, but he could have sworn that he heard her snicker.

If that wasn't enough when he was part hobbled, but when he took a bite of his chili cheese dog, the topping fell down the front staining his shirt. He was the definition of uncool, this kind of stuff never happened to Lucas, or even if it did the girl he was with would fawn over him.

"You got something"-

"I know." Zay's eyes fell to his shirt, but was surprised when her hand graced the corner of his mouth. She offered a smile and in an instant, he was on top of the world.

"So where are you going to go after NYU?" He asked trying to make small talk, he had a habit of talking too much when he became nervous and a pretty girl was enough to set him off. He had just managed to get this date with her the last thing he wanted was not to blow it.

"I don't know," she nervously started to fidget with her hair, a habit that he had happened to pick up on. "Wherever the wind takes me I guess. "

"Aren't you going to miss your friends and family?" There was no way that he could live on the other side of the country when his family lived less than half an hour away from him; they depended on him.

"I would come and visit them." She laughed before she her eyes hit the ground. "I'm kind of the fan of thinking that if people are truly meant to be in each other's lives there's nothing that would stop them." Those few words gave Zay hope that there could be a possible future for the two of them, they hadn't talked about what would happen once summer ended and the two would return to the life they knew.

"Sorry this has been such a lame date, I'm not usually this clumsy."

"I think it's cute." She bumped his shoulder playfully flirting casually.

"Anything else you have planned for this date of ours?"

"Well I was thinking of hitting the bumper cars so I can show you my skill."

"Oh? You have skill?" She bantered back.

"I am the king of bumper cars, I'll have you know." He flashed a boyish grin that caused a giggle to escape her lips. She stood up and helped Zay stand to his feet. A smirk played her lips as the two walked in the direction of the attraction.

"Prepare to be dethroned." At her words rain began to fall from the heavens and the two went dashing towards the bumper cars as their own means of shelter.

* * *

 **A.N.- Told you there is more to the triangle. There's more to the to this story than meets the eye. I cant wait for you all to read the next chapter. Let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13 More Common than You Think

**A.N.- Wow you all have lots of opinions on this story. For those of you who feel like I tricked you, that was not my intent at all, and I would wait till the next chapter before you pass judgment at all. But thankfully for all of you, I don't feel like anyone will have a problem with this chapter.**

* * *

 **My First time, hard to explain  
** **Rush of blood, oh. And a little bit of pain  
** **On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think**

Riley always loved the summer rain, even before it pertained to her and the cowboy. She thought there was such grace that out of nowhere the heaven would open and rain down on whoever was below them bringing water something to sustain life. The storms would rage providing a light show for anyone who would take the time to watch. She often would slip out onto the fire escape during a storm and just allow the rain to soak into her skin wiping away any uncertainty she had in life. When the real world called her inside, they would just give her questionable looks about her decisions that could have led to her catching a cold. The storms would be present in one area at any given point in time but after you can always see where the rain was.

The kiss in the rain was another fantasy that she always hoped that she would be able to live out and Lucas did not disappoint. It was almost the combination of her two favorite things. The rain started to come down even harder and Riley let out a playful screech as they made their way around the car to the good door on the other side of the car that would provide shelter from the rain.

Riley's laughter echoed through the car as she tried to scoot over quickly to allow Lucas to follow behind her.

"That rain came out of nowhere."

"Yeah," Lucas chuckled nervously, he was aware of how close their proximity was and she looked just as amazing as she always did. His lips still tingled from their kiss and other parts of him were already awake.

Maya would have to forgive them for getting her seats soaked, it was a closer target than the car Lucas had borrowed, and by now the damage had been done and if they switched vehicles, both would have soaking seats. Riley reached out and grabbed Lucas's arm and their eyes locked and even the sound of the pitter patter from the rain faded into silence.

"Thank you for coming after me." The corners of his lips twitched up to form a smile, what she didn't know is he would do it a thousand more times if it was needed.

"I will always be your hero," whenever he was with Riley he felt that he could do anything in the world. He didn't think when he first arrived in New York he didn't think that he would ever want to call the city home, but now he couldn't image it being anything else; and Riley was a huge part of that. When she looked up into his eyes it still brought the feelings back from middle school, it was an effect that she had on him that probably would never fade away.

His thought process was distracted when he noticed Riley shivering. His first instinct was to grab her and hold her, but since he was also soaking wet little warmth would be offered to the brunette. He didn't know if Farkle had any spare change of clothes in his car. The last thing he would want would be for her to catch a cold. He had seen Riley in a two piece multiple times over the summer, it couldn't be much different, right?

"Riley, if you need to remove your wet clothes, I'll be the perfect gentleman." Riley's mouth dropped at the suggestion not quite sure what to say. She reached down and started to fidget with the bottom of her shirt before making the rash decision of pulling the fabric up over her head and it was then that Lucas realized that he was in over his head. No matter how much he had seen her in her bathing suit, with Riley just in her bra things were different. He jumped at the chance that that he had to remove his shirt as well and try and put his mind anywhere else from sending the blood southward.

"Lucas," her words ran dry trying to figure out what to say while her hand reached out and placed it on his chest. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and then recoiled back in almost a shy manner. Lucas returned the favor and captured her lips again in his own, the interaction causing his heart to flutter faster.

His fingers grazed the bra strap which was the only thing separating him from the mounds of flesh on her chest. The lips moved worshipped her jaw line before working their way to the base of her neck. Riley felt a shiver shoot down her spine, it was like every touch from the callous hands were awakening a different part of her. The fingers gingerly drew shapes on the upper part of the back, the sensation lulling the brunette in a blanket of security. Her breath hitched when his fingers hit the clasp of her bra.

"Riley," he murmured against her soft skin asking her permission to move forward. He knew that if she kept making his body react to her touch he would reach the point of no return. He had been waiting and dreaming of this moment for what almost seemed like too long, of fate was cruel he would wake up any second alone in his bed.

"Lucas," she whimpered as he bit at the nape of his neck almost claiming his territory. The clasp of the barrier was undone as his fingers fidgeted partially because of his nerves. He broke apart from her skin as his eyes captured hers. Without breaking their connection, Riley gracefully slid the straps off her shoulder releasing her of the fabric and giving Lucas more territory to explore.

Her eyes closed automatically when his rough hands cupped her and her nails began to dig in on his exposed back. The hands began to knead the flesh softly as his mouth began the journey south. Once his mouth slipped over a nipple his head was jerked closer giving the encouragement that he needed. His tongue began to swirl around making Riley's body to react beneath him. She gasped and Lucas smirked just before grazing his teeth on the sensitive area. When he switched sides, he had gained more confidence about what to do with the beauty below. He had decided that the sound of his sunshine moaning at his touch was his favorite thing in the world.

Riley used her finger to tilt his head and captured his lips once more. His hands found her sides and he gently laid her down using his arm to support himself while the other hand stopped just short of the button for her jeans.

"Lucas wait," with those words instant doubt filled his mind. He knew all of this might have been a mistake, maybe she was about to tell him that they were moving too fast.

The brunette knew that she had to reassure the blonde, she used her actions as she unbuttoned the top and the zipper while Lucas helped with riding Riley of her jeans leaving her in just a pair of lavender underwear. Underneath his stare she was suddenly becoming more self-conscious started covering any skin that her hands would cover.

"Don't," his voice held a sense of awe. His hand reach moved one of her hand over her head before running his finger down the length of her arm sealing his words with a kiss.

"You're beautiful." A rush of blood filled her cheeks at his words.

She had always felt safe in the bay window with Maya but in this moment with being almost completely vulnerable she shared the same feeling with Lucas.

"Not just pretty?" The insecurity was still there from all her earlier years, she knew that he would have his choice of women if she wasn't in the picture.

His free hand pushed her hair behind her ear mimicking her nervous habit before their lips connected in a tender but needy kiss.

"You are the most beautiful girl in the world Riley." Riley was sure if she was standing instead of lying down her knees would grow week, he always managed to have that effect on her and she was sure that it wouldn't go away any time soon. She dragged her fingers lazily across his exposed chest following the muscles down to his six pack. He shuttered under her touch while he closed her eyes; she didn't know how much she affected him with the simplest gesture. He could feel certain parts throbbing against the only fabric holding it back. The trembling in her hands preventing her from being able to unbuckle his belt; Lucas placed his free hand on top of hers to help steady her leaving the two in just their undergarments.

Riley sat back up wanting their lips joint once more while his hand found her leg. Her mind was swirling becoming intoxicated off the Texan. His hand slid upward till he reached just below her womanhood. It only took a moment of hesitation before he pushed aside the fabric and dipped his finger inside. Riley body's reaction was to buck against his touch as a whimper quivered from her lips.

"Lucas," the words struggled to leave her lips, it was hard enough to focus when it was just his lips having their way on her neck, but paired with his finger slowly pumping her was almost maddening.

"Lucas, please," he complied with her wishes as he slowly pulled down her underwear leaving Riley completely exposed. He pulled her onto his lap to bring her closer and that was when she felt his member pressing against her core. Riley started to wiggle unaware of the sweet torture she was delivering until Lucas grabbed her hips firmly.

"Riley, are you sure you're ready for this?" They rested their foreheads against each other their breaths intermingling. Her brown eyes looked up into his and he felt more blood rush to the one spot that was throbbing.

"I'm ready." He gripped her and dug into his wallet and pulled out the one thing they needed to continue. His fingers rolled the protection as he prepared himself and he found himself all smiles. He had waited so long for this to happen; it was almost like a dream. He positioned himself and he slowly slid himself within her. Riley whimpered and Lucas pressed his lips against hers to try and distract her from the pain.

"I'm sorry baby, this is going to hurt a bit." He buried himself further breaking the barrier, their bodies fully united.

He positioned himself and he slowly slid himself within her. Riley whimpered and Lucas pressed his lips against hers to try and distract her from the pain. He started pulling himself back causing Riley to bit her lip trying to ignore the pain of not being used to having anyone be as intimate as they were in this moment.

"Just hang on it will go away," he kissed her forehead torn because he didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that it was only temporary. The two worked together moving with each other's bodies until the pain started to fade into an abandoned place only to be replace by another feeling a high that Lucas could provide her. Suddenly she found that she craved it more and more of it and that just increased necessary. Lucas used his hands to guide Riley her as their bodies rose and fell increasing the ecstasy that overwhelmed them causing moan and grunts.

"Riley, I can't"- It was hard enough to last this long but just watching her was enough to make him explode.

"I know." She was feeling her stomach start to coil into itself, all the muscles in her body were tight and if she was honest she was starting to get a cramp from this position, but she was so close but she couldn't stop when she was so close. Her hand reached out to the windows on either side of her for support and her body burst releasing all the pent-up energy and Riley fell against Lucas's chest which sent him over as well. Lucas leaned forward and kissed her exposed shoulder blade, their time together was a long time coming and he couldn't image their story unfolding any better.

"Did we just do that?" Her voice teased in a playful manner stealing a small kiss.

"I think we did, and I didn't have to lose a shoe to your father." Riley giggled wrapping her arms around his neck their bodies still flushed together.

"What happens now?"

"It looks like the weather might be too dangerous to drive in this rain." His gaze drifted off her for the first time since they got in the car noticing the beauty of the summer rain. It was nice just to stop and listen to the rain down pouring outside.

"It should let up in a few hours," his chin was directed back by her finger to have her lips meet his.

"I think I have an idea to pass the time." The whisper in his ear was enough to affect him as he realized there was still a naked Riley sitting on top of him.

As they began to explore each other's bodies once more, all the grunts, moans, and yelling one another's names were lost to the pouring rain, but in that car; was nothing but love.

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 **A.n.- Like I said, I doubt anyone had an issue with this one. Only 6 more chapters left, a lot can happen. Let me know what you think, till next time.**


	14. Chapter 14 He's My First Mistake

**A.N.- So here's the next update. I wanted to thank you all for all the support for this story. This was has been a whirlwind of a story and I thank you all sticking with me at this point.**

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 **He's my first mistake**

"Is there a problem Maya?" Josh's boyish grin faded suddenly concern for her well-being. She had acted strangely since he walked through the door. It seemed almost as if she didn't want him there, but he was doing his best not to jump to conclusions. It could be something as simple as their actions this afternoon had shocked her and she still needed time to process everything, he would be one of the first one to admit that he needed to sort everything out in his mind.

She didn't know what would become of this, all she knew was she cared very much for both men standing in front of her. This was what Riley must have felt at the dance when she had to face Lucas and Charlie at the same time back in middle school; this was life's way of teaching her a lesson. She placed on a polite smile trying to mask the anger and fear rushing through her veins.

"No, I just have to talk to Farkle quickly." Her eyes jumped to the blue ones of the genius and they had their own private conversation. They had just shared a moment but that seemed tainted now that he had snuck behind her back to invite Josh over to look for Riley. They had already received a text from Lucas telling them that he had found Riley, searching just seemed pointless at this moment of time.

Josh's eyes watched as the two exchanged silent words just as confused as he was before. He had received the text from Farkle to help look for Riley and he was more than eager to help because he was concerned for her safety. Deep down, he wouldn't lie saying that he hadn't gotten the blonde out of his head since she had come to visit him earlier. They had gotten a little carried away with each other, but he chalked that up to the tension that had been lingering between them since they parted ways. The afternoon's events did leave to question where things stood between them, but he knew that they would talk about that when she was ready.

"But wouldn't it be better if"- Farkle didn't get to finish his statement as Maya grabbed his shirt and dragged him into the kitchen leaving the pair of their previous lovers behind.

"You went behind my back and brought him here?" She hissed through her teeth. He must have called him right before she had interrupted his video game that was the only way he would have shown up when he did.

Farkle held up his hands slightly fearful for her wrath. The genius had racked his brain over and over on why the blonde wouldn't want Josh's presence in the house and he still came up with no answers which seemed to be more common when it came to her.

"He deserved to know Maya. He is Riley's family, I had to tell him that she was missing, he deserved to know."

"Riley is fine. She's safe with Lucas. You knew how I felt"- Farkle cut her off before she could continue on her rage against him.

"Actually, I don't because you won't talk to any of us about it. So, tell me Maya how do you feel?" She seemed different in the last couple days, it seemed to originate from the night of the party.

"I feel like you knew I didn't want to see him and you called him anyway."

"To help Riley! I would do anything for her; I love her." Both girls had been in his life for as long as he could remember, he had faith in Lucas in his ability to return her, but he still knew that he needed to be there for his friend.

"You love us both equally," she retorted without a second thought, doubt started to creep in about if he favored Riley over her, after all he did go against her wishes.

"But I _love_ you differently!" He sighed and she instantly knew that he meant as more than a friend. He had made a promise to love the girls equally and he had lived up to that promise until college and then he just found that he wanted to unravel the mystery that was Maya Hart. He did love Riley, like a sister. He would move mountains if he thought that it would help her in any way, that's the real reason he called Josh despite blonde's wishes. But his feelings for Maya had only grown since his sophomore year in college, she had let him more into Mayaville and he had so many questions.

"Oh." Her eyes lit up in surprise as the words, she knew from their kiss that there were some feelings there but she didn't know to what extent.

"How long?" This changed everything, if Farkle loved her in the way that he was claiming that meant that he returned the feelings that she had.

"Since last year," he mumbled as his cheeks grew hot and was paired with a light pink tint. He never imagined that he would have this conversation with her in a thousand years, but she hadn't shot him down, and they had kissed earlier was it possible that she had feelings for him too.

"A whole year," she ran her hand through her blonde hair. She didn't know how she could miss any signs, it's not like Farkle was all that subtle when it came to his flirting style. Even with his confession amidst her feelings for the genius were still new, that didn't change her mind of what needed to happen. He watched as an array of emotions splashed over her face.

"And you don't feel the same"- He answered for her, her eyes grew wide and she placed her hands on both sides of his shoulders.

"No, that's not it. I just"- Farkle was one of her best friends and the last thing she wanted was to hurt him, she would put someone through a wall who would do that for her Farkle.

"I have some things that I have to sort out in my own life before I move forward with anyone. There are feelings here between us, we can't deny that, but it wouldn't be fair for you if I acted on them now." He pushed his gaze to the floor again feeling a different flood of emotions.

"You must hate me," She wouldn't even blame him if he did, she just did what she always did, act without thinking and now the price to pay was steep. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulders, her body jumping at his touch.

"Maya, I could never hate you," his smile warmed the room. His words still didn't ease the guilt she felt for hurting him.

"I told you that there was nothing you could do to make me not love you any less." It was a stranger concept to her that there was nothing that could deter him, at that point she knew that she would never deserve the genius in front of her, but life granted him in her life anyway. "Thanks Farkle," She leaned in and pressed a kiss against his cheek. She knew that if things would eventually progress with him that she would want to take things super slow, after all it seemed to work for Riley and Lucas. Maya managed to look over his should during the kiss and see a very uncomfortable Josh with Smackle staring him down.

"You left Josh alone with Smackle?" Panic started to race through her, Maya could only imagine the questions that she was asking him.

"You dragged me away, remember?" She didn't seem all that entertained by him teasing and she rushed past him to save Josh from any line of questioning Isadora offered him.

"Your facial structure, it's very symmetrical." The raven-haired beauty said squinted through her glasses trying to find a flaw in the Matthew boy. Josh now knew how bacteria felt under a microscope, and he didn't wish it upon them even if they couldn't feel.

"Thank you?" He offered not sure if the comment was a compliment or not, he assumed it would be but wouldn't a non-symmetrical face be more fascinating to stare at? He hadn't spent much time with Isadora compared to the others that his niece had befriended. It didn't take much observation to realize that she was head over heels for Dr. Turtleneck.

"Maya must protect you against all other suitors; otherwise someone might snatch you up dream boat." His face scrunched even more with confusion, did Smackle know about what occurred between Maya and him or was she simply making an educated guess?

"Maya, Suitors? I don't think that you understand"- He was only able to repeat a couple words his brain still trying to process.

"I think I understand perfectly, she and I had a bonding moment earlier and she was planning on talking to you when she was ready." Maya had talked about him to Smackle? His eyes glanced over to where Farkle and Maya were having what looks like a heated conversation. Even though he wasn't in ear shot he could tell apart from anger that there was some other tension between them. His brain wandered too wondering why Maya and Farkle never became an item. Ever since Lucas had stepped into his niece's life he had a gut feeling that Riley had found her Topanga, whether she realized it or not. The late-night talks that she would have with Riley would prove that, but Maya didn't have a guy like that in her life. With him and Maya, there always seemed like there was something that something standing in their way whether it be the age gape or the miscommunication. Farkle had stood beside her every step of the way to his knowledge, he must have seen how attractive she had grown to become, it was only natural for them to grow closer, but the question was where did that leave them?

Maya pushed Josh away from Smackle in order to get their privacy dragging him to another room near the front of the house. Once she knew that they were out of earshot she released his arm.

"Maya, what's going on, why was Smackle talking about finding me a mate?" Maya let out a groan, even if she was trying to help, only but in this case, it made everything worse.

"That's nothing, don't worry about it," his eyebrows furrowed together, what was she talking about.

"Maya," he cautioned. His number one priority was his niece, but he could tell that there was something bothering her. He watched her pace back and forth a habit that she had established when she was nervous. He reached out and grabbed her arm turning her to face him.

"I wanted to apologize." The words sounded easy as they left her mouth but she knew how big a step in the best direction into righting her wrongs. His blue eyes pierced hers as Josh started to wonder what exactly she was asking forgiveness for; the worst-case scenario was she was apologizing for what they had shared together a few hours ago.

"Maya," when the words left his lips his tone was different, gentle, and soft it made her knees grow weak right then and there. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was trying to communicate.

"No, I'm not talking about that." A deep blush grew rapidly about what she was referencing. She would never apologize for the heated moment that would be engrained her mind for many nights to come.

"That night at the party, I-I never should have acted like that. I was stupid and immature and I was acting like the child that you called me." Her head dropped because she hated admitting that he was right all along. His finger slipped under her chin and he lifted it until their vision reconnected.

"We were both to blame for the events that happened. You acted out, but I left you there in a dangerous situation." His fought back the need to puke at the thought of Maya being with someone else. It had kept him up for nights just thinking about anything that he could have done to change the outcome of the situation.

"Josh, I didn't sleep with him."

"What?" It felt like all the blood froze in his system simultaneously to his skin being on fire. He felt silly that the situation could have been resolved if they had simply talked to each other. All of his friends had advised him to just ignore her; it had caused him to delete her message before hearing her out.

Josh's fingers reached out and touched her check their hot breaths began to intermingle, he leaned in and closed the gap between them. It would be easy to give in, to let him kiss her senseless, but that's what the old her would do.

"Josh, I can't." His eyebrows narrowed in confusion as she pushed him away. It seemed that both of them had been waiting so long for their mistakes to be corrected and then they could be together; had he read the moment wrong? She closed her eyes for a brief second giving her the courage that she needed to continue.

"It's not what you think, it has not you"- her voice faded when she realized how much it sounded like an excuse.

"It's you?" He finished her statement all signs of happiness on his had disappeared. Everything had gotten tangled between everything with Josh and Farkle, for her to better herself she had to take a step back and take note of everything.

"Josh, I have been running from myself for a long time, and you deserve someone better, and I intend to get there, I'm just not there yet." She reached out her hand and touched his with remorse, she wished she didn't hurt him, she seemed to do that to everyone she loved.

"I understand." He said squeezing her hand trying to be supportive. It was hard to be so when it felt like they were always headed back to square one.

"Long game?" He asked trying to lighten the mood. Maya's lips tucked up, she didn't understand how he was so patient when it came to her, maybe that was what it meant to play the long game.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The blonde didn't know what would happen in the future with either boy, but she knew that she was lucky to have both Farkle and Josh in her life, and she had to better herself for everyone that she loved. The two started to journey back to join the others when the door suddenly swung open to revealing her best friend who looked soaked from the rain with her hand intertwined with Lucas who wore a small smile. She had come home.

Riley suddenly became so uncomfortable with all the eyes drawn to her, but drew strength when Lucas reached out and gave her hand a squeeze; they would tackle this together. Her eyes narrowed in confusion at the sight of Josh who was in standing in Farkle' s home, and even though she just walked in she could tell that she missed something really important.

"Josh, what are you doing here?" What if they had reached out her parents, her face paled at the thought. Even though she was an adult, she never wanted to disappoint the two of them with the decisions that she made.

"Farkle told me that you were lost," his eyes drifted over to Lucas and only the edges of his lips crept up into a smile, "but it seems that you were in good hands." A wildfire of a blush rose on her cheeks under his words, was it possible that he knew? She had heard of the after-sex glow, but she always assumed it was a myth, but even if it was real she had been gone for several hours at this point.

"It was raining hard where we were at so we had to wait till it died down for safety reasons." Even with their hands being the only part of them being connected her skin was on fire from the memories of how his hands explored and worshiped every inch of her body.

"Well I'm glad that you're safe, now if you excuse me I think it's best for everyone involved if I head back home; got to meet up for Andrew, for a hockey game tonight." His eyes flickered over to Maya paralyzing her in her spot, no words were spoken, but a lot was said between them. She still didn't know how much time before the long game would finish, but she did know that life threw them together when she thought she would never see him again, and it could do it again once she had her priorities straight. She knew hope and love weren't just for suckers, her family and friends had proven that over her life, and maybe Josh would be a part of her future, but she would have to wait to find out. It was like Riley and Lucas had said it wasn't until the right moment of time when two people come together. Speaking of the lovebirds her eyes narrowed on her best friend, there was something different between them, but she just couldn't place it. She knew that Riley was here and that they needed to talk, because she couldn't work on her until she had the sound knowledge that her friendship with Riley was back to normal. She rushed over to Riley grabbed her free hand and their eyes connected.

"Bay window, bay window right now," there was a smile exchanged between the two of them as she looked back to Lucas who nudged her closer to her best friend. They released a giggle that started to echo through the house as the two ran up the stairs to the window that symbolized more than just a place to work out any conflict that they had, it was a place where a brunette and a blonde would have each other's backs no matter what life threw at them.

The giggling subsided once they had finished their race to the window, and neither of them knew what had caused the laughter to erupt in the first place. Maybe it was that they didn't want to address why they were mad at each other, they just wanted to be friends again. The two sat down on the bench and silence sat between them both figuring out in their own minds what words needed to be said.

"Maya"- Riley began, but the blonde didn't let her continue further. She knew that if she let her best friend speak then she would apologize, when this whole mess was her fault, as per usual.

"No Riley, I need to get this out. I haven't been acting like your friend. I was trying to run from my choices but then I remembered that I failed gym so," she broke up in a bittersweet smile at the remembrance of all the antics that she did to get out of running a mile.

"I remembered a very wise brunette told me once that I had to stand up and face the consequences even if I don't like what they happens."

"I said that?" Riley asked in confusion.

"It was actually your Dad," her eyes fell to the ground. It was part of the high school graduation speech that he gave her right before her freshman year of college. Mr. Matthews had stepped up and been one of the first people to believe in her, to see the potential and push her when she needed it. She was grateful that she had both Mr. Matthews and Shawn in her life to help direct and guide her; it was more than what most people had.

"Will you forgive me?" With the question posed to Riley she also silently searched for the will within her to forgive herself. She had started the path to fix the slightly broken road in front of her, she knew it wouldn't be easy, but with her friends and family supporting her it would be worth it. Riley reached out and pushed the golden locks behind Maya's ears.

"Of course," smiles were exchanged as the mood started to lighten the room, "but we have to promise no more secrets."

"No more secrets." Maya agreed her pinkey joining hers in a handshake. It wasn't until the words that were said that she released that meant she would have to come clean with her current situation in her love life. Maya adjusted her body so she was facing the brunette offering her full attention.

"Riley, there's something that you need to know." She ran her hands down her legs trying to sum up the courage.

"Josh and I, well we"- What was the best way to tell her that she slept with her Uncle?

"Are you going to be my Aunt?" Her big doe eyes managed to grow even bigger at the half confession. Things with Josh were too complicated to answer that, so she just put on a smile. Maybe she wouldn't have to know all the details, she wasn't sure she would want to if it was about Riley and Lucas.

"I don't know," It was as honest as she could be in the moment. She didn't know what would happen even a year from now.

"Who know with the long game, I mean for all I know I could end up with Farkle." The idea seemed to elude her; she knew that he would take care of her financially while also supporting her in whatever she set out to do. He had asked her to marry him twice in her life, but maybe if he were to eventually ask again she would say yes. What was so wrong with wanting a happy life where she was loved, protected and cared for?

"Farkle?" A small chuckle escaped the brunette's lips, causing Maya's eyebrows to scrunch together.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just- It's Farkle you know? He's been with us our whole life. You would think if you two were meant to be together the Universe would bring you two together by now." She noticed that her best friend's lips dipped into a frown at her response. Riley's nose scrunched up, she must have missed something while she was away, but she could tell the unease from the blonde, so she wasn't going to push her further.

"Maya, I have something to tell you too." Maya had shared a bit of her love life; it was only fair to open up a little on her end. She was slightly afraid of what her best friend would do to her boyfriend if she found out what had happened between them.

"Lucas and I are together. It all happened so fast, and we kind of got swept up in our feelings and we just let go," the color on her cheeks had reddened to a shade that would match a tomato.

"That's not really a secret Riles, we saw you two walk through the door. I have to say I'm happy for you two, it took you two long enough to be together." She did ponder why Riley was acting so shy on the manner; it wasn't necessarily a secret that the two had been making out around the house. The sight made her want to pour a smoothie over the lovebirds to cool them off, but knowing them they might enjoy it.

Isadora's eyes never wavered from Farkle as the two girls ran upstairs leaving the two alone, but at the current moment she didn't know how she felt. It seemed like everything was coming together for Riley and Maya's love life, but it didn't seem like Farkle was all that happy. She didn't know if it was due to her presence since he had been distant ever since she had arrived despite her advances towards the genius. She didn't expect to win him back completely within her short amount of time at the house, but she would have thought that she would have made more progress. She reached out her and placed her hand on his shoulder and it pained her to watch him flinch under her touch. It was almost as if they were too damaged to try their relationship again.

"Farkle, what's the matter?" She just wished that he would be open and communicate with her. They used to be able to talk about how they were feeling, lately it seemed like they just hit a wall.

"I don't want to talk about it, ok?" He snapped this time the tone causing her to react.

"You're upset," It was a simple observation that spoke volumes. "Was it something that I?"

"No Isadora, it's not you," he huffed. "Can we just drop this, please?" The last thing he wanted was to talk about this especially with her. He started to walk away signaling the end of the conversation until Isadora stopped him.

"Is it Maya?"

"That doesn't matter." He allowed his eyes to drift to the stairs where Maya had run up to repair her friendship with her best friend, and then it lingered for just too long. "I love her possibly more than she'll ever know, but it's not time for us yet."

"What about us Farkle, do you see us ever getting a chance to start over?" She didn't know she much was riding on a question, but she could have sworn that she subconsciously holding her breath, and but the look on his face her chances weren't good.

"I don't know," he answered. He knew that if he didn't answer honestly that it would cause more pain for both in the long run. "You really hurt me Izzy." She would half smile at the account of him using her nickname, but the circumstances seemed less than pleasant.

"So just because I made one mistake, that means that we could never rekindle what we had?"

"You gave up on us Smackle!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "Things got hard and then you immediately started going to Theo?!"

"But I didn't cheat on you, doesn't that mean anything?" Tears started streaming down her face, she felt so foolish to even show up at the house. Even when she was with Theo, she still though of Farkle in the deepest corners of her mind.

"You may as well have." His voice had been void of all positive emotions and she started to give up hope. She was just looking for a sign that she was wrong, that this was just a bad dream and she would wake up back to reality.

"I'm fighting for you now!"

"That's just it Isadora, it's too late."

"Does any part of you still love me?" If there was no chance for them then she would need to reevaluate the future and where she belonged.

"I think a small part of me will always love you Smackle, but I just can't do this right now." Smackle's eyes hit the floor where she was sure that her heart lay in a thousand pieces.

"I see." She pushed her hair behind her ear making sure that she wouldn't have a complete breakdown in front her former love.

"Well I'll leave you alone, and you won't have to worry about me." She turned and was the one to walk away towards her room leaving Farkle behind wondering if he just did the right thing.

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 **A.N.- Hides in the corner. I know that was a ton of feels in one chapter and that was probably the worst of it in the story. So congratulations, you survived. I know and fully expecting some backlash for this chapter, but as Maya's story progressed it was evident that she wasn't in the right head space to date anyone at the moment. I hope you all will let me know how you feel with this chapter. Till next time.**


	15. Chapter15We Gave Each Other Up so Easily

**A.N.- So I know it's been two weeks and I apologize and just hope you forgive me. (Although by the end of this chapter I don't think you all will be too happy with me. This chapter is dedicated you everyone who has stood by me in this process. I'm so honored to have such great readers.**

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 **Maybe you were all faster than me  
We gave each other up so easily  
These silly little wounds will never mend  
** **I feel so far from where I've been.**

It had been a week since Riley's homecoming, and everything was starting to feel like it was getting back to normal, well for everyone but him. Farkle had his eyes glued to the screen in front of him trying to keep his mind distracted so he didn't think about what else happened in that amount of time; Smackle. His eyes glanced for just a millisecond towards his phone resting on the couch within arm's reach. He missed her, even though he shouldn't. Their conversation left so many words running and alternate conversations running through his head, but unfortunately for him he wasn't a computer so he didn't get to run a scenario on each. Everyone else must have realized the toll to his emotions why Smackle had left because they didn't bring up the subject, maybe they were afraid he would bend under the pressure.

"Farkle, we need to talk." Zay had leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, but out of the very edges he saw a paper peeking out. He didn't need any guesses to figure out what he wanted to talk about. He knew it was a matter of time, but he figured it was Lucas or either girl that would step forward.

"Zay, I have a feeling I know what this is about, I don't want to talk about it." He knew beating around the bush would do nothing for his case.

"You knew she was going to leave, didn't you?"

Despite readjusting his eyes to the screen in front of him he could still feel the stare of Zay. He knew that this wasn't going to go away; he just wished that he could delay this conversation as long as possible.

"I knew it was a possibility"- The truth was he was sure after his conversation that it was possible but after he found the letter she had left in the morning he knew that it was all his fault.

"A possibility, do you even hear yourself right now? Smackle is our friend." He had never seen Zay this protective of people, no wonder Lucas and got along so well. He didn't know that the two of them were close, but that could have just happened during her time in the house.

"Everything isn't that simple Zay." There was no way that Zay knew both sides to the story, all he had to go on was a letter.

"So, tell me how it is." There wasn't any chance that Zay was backing down from this.

"You've probably read the letter, so you know what it says." If he did he did, he would have read Isadora Smackle pouring her heart out onto a page, which she didn't do lightly. It was hard enough to read let alone have his brain recite it from memory every day when he woke up to haunt him.

"Do you regret what happened between you two. The girl basically spilled out her heart to you and you sent her off like a criminal." Frustration began to build, there was no way he would accept total blame for what happened, that needed to be shared. He didn't ask her to come her, but she did. He was a very generous host, he treated her as a friend despite the pain she inflicted him in the past.

"That's not what happened, I didn't force her to leave, she left on her own accord." He seemed to be grasping for the right words to say. "I didn't want it to end like that, but she gave me no choice."

 _Zay couldn't help but watch everything that was unfolding in front of him, he was the only one that didn't have feelings for anyone in the home, it was a blessing and curse at the same time. He often wondered if he was sucked up in his own drama that he wouldn't see everything going on and feel the need to act. Isadora seemed like a lost puppy, and unless she would act she didn't stand a chance. Farkle had feelings for Maya for the past year, but he also noticed that whatever was between Farkle and Smackle there was still ghost of something still lingering there. He was on his way out to meet up Casey for their date, but he saw Isadora glancing out a window and he found himself making a detour straight to her._

" _Smackle, do you want some friendly advice?" The question snapped her attention from the window. Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion._

" _I'm not sure what you're implying?" Usually the only kind of advice that she needed from him was with strategy type games or social cues. Her friendship with Zay was rocky at best, they hadn't talked much since Farkle and her had separated._

" _Enough is enough Isadora!" His enthusiasm made her flinch "I've been watching you since you arrived and I only have one question, do you want Farkle back?"_

" _Is it that obvious?" She didn't like to think that it was, she had made sure that all of her interactions with Farkle was discrete. If Zay knew there was a good chance that everyone knew, and suddenly she felt her embarrassment in her cheeks. The fact that he hadn't answered her question was enough._

" _Oh." The floor became a point of interest for her._

" _You should go tell him Smackle, you need to tell him how you feel." He knew that she was on borrowed time, if she had a chance to fight for Farkle it would be before Farkle would tell Maya._

" _Really?" She was shocked of his advice; did he really think that's all it would take?_

" _Are you sure that's a good idea?" She had tried to probe for answers and she just got shut down._

" _Trust me I know Farkle. Just tell him the honest truth, and you two can work it out from there." He knew that there were multiple sides to this story, but he knew Farkle to be a man of logic._

" _I hurt him Zay, are you sure that would be enough?" Their eyes locked and he saw more hope in her eyes than he had seen in her time there._

" _It would be enough for me."_

"Everyone has a choice." He placed down the letter right next to Farkle before leaving the room in a huff. Farkle could understand why he was upset, Isadora was his friends too, but she was asking something of her that he couldn't deliver. She had hurt him and maybe he wasn't as over the whole thing as he initially thought.

* * *

The feeling of his lips attached to the nape of her neck almost made her roll her eyes back in pure bliss. It had only been a couple days they had been away from one another, but it felt like the years kept repeating themselves between their visits. It would start in the same way no matter who started it. One would show up at each other's door no matter the time of the night or day, and all it would take would be one lustful look would launch their bodies to cling together as their lips would start exploring each other's before wandering to any exposed skin.

The first night it was the night after they had come home, it was Lucas who had showed up at her door in the late hours of the evening. She felt her body release a small gasp at the way he was undressing her with his lustful eyes. Her hands clamped on his face as she gave into his desire without another word.

The second night that they were together Riley was the one who initiated it. She tossed and turned in bed to the point where she couldn't take it anymore. She ached for his touch and how he could make her feel like she was on cloud 9. She slipped off her clothes letting the moonlight soak into her skin knowing that she wouldn't need them for what she had planned. She grabbed her robe and let it hang over her body. She was sure that no one saw her as she slipped down the stairs to reach the Texan's room. The door was opened just enough for her to slip in closing it behind her. Lucas's eyes tore up from the phone and the meaningless game he was playing because sleep hadn't claimed him.

"Riley, what are you"- His sentence stopped dead in his tracks when her robe fell to the ground with Riley in nothing but a coy smile. He couldn't move as her naked form walked closer to him, she helped him remove any hindrance before taking his length into her mouth enjoying the new-found confidence every time he moaned her name. Their night progressed further with Riley calling all the shots, they were starting to be comfortable with each other and knew what to do to drive the other wild.

The third time was more out of a burning craving and when everyone was up in the house the two snuck down to the beach to get some alone time. Their lips joined as she wrapped her arms around his built body and his wander further south until his fingers slipped beneath her swimsuit causing her to whimper. Things progressed as Riley's hands grabbed at him through his swimsuit. It wasn't long before her legs wrapped around his waist and he was burying himself deeper into her caverns.

Two days was a long time without breathing in her high of Lucas Friar, it almost came as natural as breathing in air. This deep pitted desire began to emerge and she didn't know how to control it. She pushed up his shirt till he obliged by pulling the fabric over his head which was followed shirt shortly behind. His hands roughly cupped the outside of her bra the blood rushing southward. They both drifted backwards till the back of her knees hit the edge of her bed. A soft giggle escaped her lips as she fell backwards with Lucas hovering over her.

"Hi," her voice was soft smiling up at his brilliant green eyes.

"Hey," he stole a kiss from her.

"Hi," her fingertips followed the muscles until they hit the jeans. She could already feel him hardened through the fabric, and it made her hungry for his touch even more. She started pushing off his jeans only another level separating them.

"Riley, I was wondering- What in the hell?" The two adults broke away and try to use whatever they could to cover themselves.

"Maya, what are you doing in here?" Riley yelled in shock as embarrassment rose from her chest staining her cheeks to a point where she wasn't sure if the color would fade.

"Well clearly not the same thing you're doing! Lucas put that away no one wants to see Lucas jr." Her hand was covering her eyes but she was sure that she would be scared for months to come, if she would have just come in a couple minutes later, who knows what she would have seen. Riley was glad that she could grab her robe that was nearby to cover her lack of clothes pushing Maya towards the door as Lucas scrambled to put on the rest of the clothes that he was currently lacking.

"Maya what's this about?"

"Well I was going to ask how the two of you were, but now I think I know a little too much." Riley's cheeks had adjusted back to a lighter shade of pink and Maya tilted her head to the side.

"Wait how long has this been happening?" Riley bit her lip hesitant to give her some of the details regarding her intimate relationship with Lucas.

"About a week ago," she mumbled hoping that she wouldn't put two and two together.

"Wait, you mean"- her eyes widened as the realization hit her. "Riley, tell me you two didn't"- the fact that Riley's eyes shifted to her feet was all the answer she needed. She pushed past her best friend and burst into the room catching a now fully clothed Lucas in surprise.

"You!" She pointed towards him and suddenly the boy feared for his life. He jumped over the bed to avoid Maya swinging her arm at him. Riley couldn't do much but watch Maya chase him right out of the room. She tried to yell at her that it wasn't his idea but she seemed to be focusing on catching the cowboy and providing retaliation.

* * *

"So why was Maya chasing Lucas around the house?" There was a mixture of amusement and laughter in his voice. They had lunch together and spent time talking, but it didn't take long for the conversation to link back to Riley's love life since that was a main point of conversation the last time was Jordan helping her figure out her feelings for Lucas.

"Let's just say she found out something that she rather wouldn't." Jordan didn't need all the details from her encounters with Lucas.

"I take it you took my advice then and told him the truth."

"Yes," her lips spread up into a smile.

"So, things are going well between you two then," he teased as she started to push back her hair as a blush started to spread. She normally wouldn't talk to anyone but Maya about stuff like this, but Jordan and she had gotten closer over the couple months and it was refreshing to get a complete outsiders perspective on everything.

"For now," she admitted sheepishly. After all these years life had finally brought them together and it seemed to be smooth sailing, but she had thoughts every now and then about what would happen when summer would end.

"What's on your mind," Riley's smile faltered a little, he seemed to be able to tell when there was something wrong and never failed to talk to her about it.

"Being here has been just what I needed, but I'm just worried about what happen when I go"- Her voice faded as her vision turned to the sea in front of them.

"Back?" He finished her sentence offering a smile, Riley started to absently mindlessly draw some shapes in the sand.

"It just that everything is different now, more difficult. I kinda just wish we could go back to the good old days when things were simpler, he like me, I liked him but now."

"I don't think things are more complicated, I think you're just making it that way."

She enjoyed the conversations that they had; they could talk for hours and not notice a single minute pass by. She was glad that she found someone that she felt so comfortable with opening up to Jordan. Maybe in another lifetime or a different reality it would have worked out between the two of them, but in this lifetime, they were just friends.

"I hope you're right." Her head came to rest on his shoulder and Riley felt a sense of calm wash over her.

* * *

Lucas didn't know what he was seeing. The picture of Riley resting her head on another guy's shoulder shouldn't make him want to kick the nearest tree, but it did, and he found that he couldn't tear his eyes away. Riley was in that position all the time with Farkle and he didn't give it a second thought, but there was something different this time with her confiding in Jordan. Even though he knew that the dark-haired boy wasn't a romantic threat, this was something deeper rooted. He had told her once that one of his favorite things in this life was talking about her, that in those moments it was just the two of them and they could talk about any subject in the world and have a conversation. What made his blood boil was by the looks of what was in front of him, there was an undeniable connection between them. He knew barely anything about Jordan which was the cause for his concern, he couldn't help it.

He had finally got Riley back into his life and now he was protective of what they had. Everything was so fragile as they started the uncharted territories with the times they had been together since that day in the car. He knew that they needed to discuss how they would deal with moving forward. He just hoped that if Riley had an issue with their arrangement that she would come to him instead of running off to whoever she could find with a lending ear.

Doubt crept up in his mind that maybe the time they spent apart was no beneficial. They used to talk all the time when they were younger, but now it seemed liked she was more interested in not talking, and he would be lying if he said that didn't worry him.

He backtracked to his room grabbed his phone for music and headed for the door. Once his feet started to hit the pavement he was able to push all the troubles away focused on the journey in front of him as the endorphin started streaming into his system.

* * *

Riley had said her goodbyes to Jordan as she headed back to the home shoes in hand and a smile on her face. Before she headed inside she stopped, rested her hand on the door frame and she looked back at the ocean once more not believing that in a couple weeks they would heading back home and then she didn't know what she would do. She would be headed into her junior year with Maya and Farkle on her side. Lucas was at a nearby college so he would theoretically be able to be in her life if they decided to continue their relationship. She was nervous on what the future held but thankfully for Jordan he let her start to unfold her hands and except the future despite whatever it held.  
She turned just in time to see Lucas enter the room with just workout shorts and headphones in his ears. A cat like grin appeared on her lips, if one thing could be said, it was God knew what he was doing when he made Lucas Friar. He seemed to be in his own little world and didn't even notice her standing there watching him. He took a bottle of water out of the fridge and started chugging. After he made a detour straight for his room, and Riley's grin grew as she had an idea popped into her mind. She sauntered towards the room and slowly opened the door Lucas still completely unaware of her presence. Her eyes widened as just for a second she watched his muscles move as he started to stretch. She was still aching for him since Maya had interrupted earlier, and she was intending to resolve that feeling. She reached out and had her hands ran her hands around his waist resting just above his manhood. In an instant, he spun around and pushed her against the wall their bodies dangerously close. Her eyes sparkled up at him before leaning in and capturing his lips in hers with limited thought process and more primal instinct driving her forward.

"Riley, what are you doing?" Her narrowed at his questioned in-between kisses, she thought it obvious to what they were doing.

"I think that you know exactly what we're doing." She reached for him, but his hands blocked hers.

"No Riley." He knew that if he let her touch him, then it would all be over and he would give in to her sweet demands.

"What's wrong Lucas?" It wasn't like him to act like this, normally he would have already taken control by this point.

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" His jaw seemed to lock in place bracing himself for however she responded. Her eyes searched his as her hand reached to touch Lucas only to have him flinch.

"Lucas nothing is wrong," It was easier not to bring up her doubts of the future of their relationship at this moment; once she gave herself enough time she would be more confident, but right now she was just enjoying their time together.

Lucas's heart broke as he watched the girl of his dreams stand in front of him lying straight to his face, this only pushed him further to get to the bottom of it.

"I saw you with Jordan, Riley." At the words her body grew ridged with all the potential thoughts that could have been running through his head.

"It's not what you're thinking, Jordan was just talking. There's nothing going on between us." She knew how jealous he got, and the last thing she wanted was Lucas to come to the wrong conclusion.

"So you didn't mention us at all during the duration of your lunch?" He needed the answer to be no, but judging by her reaction he would be sorely disappointed.

"What does it matter if the topic of our relationship came up?"

"Why is so hard to tell me what you talked about?" His voice a decimal, but it was still at the point where he could control his anger.

"Because you wouldn't like what I had to say."

"Riley, you can tell me anything. "- He never wanted them to be in a position where she couldn't tell him something, open and honest communication was the only way to have a healthy relationship.

"I was discussing our future." The words flooded out before she could stop them, and she wished she could take them back in a second. But now that the truth was out she needed to do some damage control. "I mean sure we work while we're here, but once we go back, it's going to be harder." Lucas was completely bewildered by the statement from the brunette. How much would they have to endure to prove that it would be worth it? She went through hardship after hardship with Maya and it seemed to make their friendship stronger, what was so different between their relationship?

"Of course it would be harder; but that's what makes things worth it isn't it? Have you ever questioned your friendship with Maya like this?" Her heart fluttered at the mention of Maya, she had a glimpse of life without Maya over the last couple weeks and she hated it. She had her moments where her flaws would come to the surface, but she couldn't do life without her. They were thunder and lightning forever.

"Maya will always be in my life." It was like a stab to his heart, all the time he had known her he had allowed himself to take a backseat so she could give Maya the priority, but even after all this time things hadn't changed. She had more faith in her best friend than the possibility that they would be able to survive attempting a stable relationship once they returned from this paradise.

"So Maya gets a free pass to be by your side, but I have to fight just to even compete with her? What, All the times we spent together that was what- just you living out a fantasy till you go back home? We go to different schools, but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't work." Riley bit her lip in frustration, she knew if she touched his question about Maya, it would just lead to another fight entirely.

"I just don't want to get ahead of ourselves Lucas. I don't want us to go forward so confidently when we aren't sure. For all we know we could end up like Farkle and Smackle, there are plenty of pretty girls who are at your school; what if you suddenly decide that you want to pursue feelings with one of them?" Her stomach grew sick at the thought, but managed to date Veronica after her, what's to say that the next time would be any different.

Lucas's rage started to build, even after they had spent all the time together in one of the most intimate ways, she still didn't have faith in him, in the future, or them. He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth; she fully expected him just to drop her like a summer fling and never speak to her again. What was worse is that just like Maya she seemed to put more of her confidence in someone she just met like Jordan than she did for him. She seemed to already confide in him matters that she wouldn't even discuss with him, almost as if he was just her play thing. The next step was obvious, with him out of the picture, they were free to act on whatever feelings were there between them.

"Well maybe you should sleep with Jordan, because it's obvious that you have more faith in him than you do in me." It was what he was speaking, but he hadn't meant to say it out loud; it was painful watching the hurt wash over her face.

New feelings started to rise from the words that just sunk into her skin, and these feelings weren't all warm and fuzzy. It was the feelings of doubt and anger towards the Texan. He wasn't acting like the Lucas that she knew and it scared her, of course there was always the possibility that he had grown up and because he didn't have the support that he needed some of his wild side emerged to the surface.

"I can't do this right now." She bit her lip as she pushed the hair behind her ear as her eyes couldn't look at the blonde. They haven't had many fights since they had met, life had been kind, but when they did have fights it tended to grow much larger than the original problem.

"Riley"- He reached out to her knowing he had crossed the line, but she shrugged off his touch.

"I just need to be alone."

"But Riley"- He didn't want her to leave, because Riley alone with her thoughts could be a dangerous thing, she had the tendency to go to a darker place. Her eyes connected for the first time since he had uttered the final blow.

"Lucas, if you love me, let me go." He didn't say another word as he placed both hands on either side of her and nodded. She left the room and headed up the stairs wondering exactly 'let me go' meant for them.

* * *

 **A.N.- So I know you all want to hunt me down, but just hold off for a second. I made a promise to myself, to my closest writing friends, and to you all. Rucas's story does not end in this chapter. Just hang in there. Three chapters left. Let me know what you think. Hopefully I'll finish the next chapter soon.**


	16. Chapter 16 In my Heart is the Five of Us

**A.N.- Sorry everything has taken so long. My family came to visit along with recent trips to Disney, it kind of hindered the process. It took a lot of effort for me to update today, so I figured I wouldn't wait to tomorrow morning. I'm sad about the tweet that the show is officially over, but I wanted to reassure you that I will complete my stories so you have nothing to fear there. But without much else added, I give you the next chapter.**

* * *

 **So I go, and I will not be back here again  
I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses  
I lie, put my injuries all in the dust  
In my Heart is the five of us  
In white houses**

Riley's head was swirling as she was climbing the stairs to her room. The whole time there was a little voice that whispered with every step she took 'come after me.' She knew it was selfish of her, but she wished that he would unfold his hands too. He was always known as the guy who was ok with everything, but she couldn't see how he was ok with her leaving him and not doing anything about it. The words flowed too quickly off his tongue for her to sleep with Jordan, it was almost as if he hadn't dealt with his own issues as he grew up.  
Everything seemed to like it was getting better for a moment before everything fell apart. Despite the summer the five of them would have the secrets and memories associated with the white house. Her hand grabbed the clothes to fold them into the suitcase as she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay. It was a simple plan, she would take herself out of the equation, and then everyone else could enjoy the remainder of time at the beach house. She would spend the days trying to distract herself and start to prepare for the upcoming school year. Maya would have to fill her in on any adventures that the gang would have, and even though she knew how much her best friend would protest, but eventually understand that it was better that she left before the summer ended.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" The flattened dejected voice belonged to Farkle who was standing in her doorway. She didn't turn towards him, but continued to pack instead.

"Thank you for letting me stay here Farkle, but I think it's time for me to go back home. I can't stay in this fantasy forever." She would admit to herself that this was a break from reality, she made new friends, reconnected with her old love, had memories that would last a lifetime, but she couldn't stay living in that world.

"I urge you to reconsider, take a day and think about it." It was a tempting offer, but if she stayed she might not gather the courage to leave and then she wouldn't know where she would be.

"I can't do that Farkle," her voice wavered as tears started to gather in her eyes. She had made up her mind, and the best thing for everyone involved was to put some space between them. The opportunity would also give distance between Lucas and her so he would be able to think over their relationship.

Everyone had told her that when it came to relationships the best thing was to start at the beginning, but what everyone failed to tell her was how complicated things could become if they weren't careful. She had thought that being intimate with someone would bring them closer, but it seemed like they were further than they had been since the day they both arrived at the home.

"Riley, you're not thinking this through." She could understand why it seemed like that, but if he only knew how many times she had contemplated leaving the house previously, then he would understand. She didn't want to face the past or the people in it because she was afraid how much they had changed, but more importantly, how much she had.

"Farkle, I made my mind up." She zipped the suitcase closed and placed it on the floor, before turning and facing one of her best friends. A secret conversation began between them with just their connection in which Farkle was begging her to stay and she was telling him why she couldn't.

"I can't change your mind, can I?" He felt his throat drying up with the question. He hated seeing her in pain like this, but he knew that running away wouldn't solve her problems. He had learned that the hard way, but it appeared that she had to learn just as he did.

"I'm sorry Farkle," her hand reached down and picked up the suitcase holding everything that she had brought with her that felt almost heavier than before.

"Don't be," he reached out and touched her arm in a comforting manner. Sad smiles echoed off their lips and he wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Watch over everyone," she ordered softly in his ear and he agreed quietly. She heard a sound of the car entering the driveway and knew it was time to go. Farkle followed her closely down the stairs. Riley headed towards the door and reached towards the handle when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Riley?" She made the mistake of turning around and her eyes connected to the desperate ones of Lucas.

"I'm sorry," she approached him and placed a tender kiss on his cheek before fleeing out the door.

Lucas's fists curled into balls as he found that he couldn't move his legs to chase after her. When they did allow him to move he ran outside in time to see the taxi leaving the driveway.

* * *

It was almost as if she couldn't feel her body as she opened the door to the taxi. Deep down she was trying to hush the voice hoping that someone would talk some sense into her. It was disheartening that no one came after her, maybe the word hadn't gotten through the house of her departure.

"Where to Miss?" Her reply rolled off her tongue with little effort. Her hands gripped tightly to the suitcase as if she was still carrying it. The scenery started to roll past as the vehicle began to move, as her decision started to feel more final.

Her mind started to roll past to the memories that she had created in the home. She experienced new things and met strangers that she never thought she would. The house had also given her Lucas. She supposed that she would keep all the memories that seemed bittersweet at the current moment. The rain would always cause her lips to tuck up into a smile now for a different reason. With the blond cowboy, she lost all control when it came to him, the girl that she was would never had been intimate in the ocean where anyone could see. He made her act impulsively and she wasn't like her, to be with him she would have to accept that side of her, and it scared her.

To be ok with the idea of a future together where she would have to unfold her hands was one thing, to live it out was another. She was determined to not let herself backslide into months of depression again, instead she wanted to learn from the experiences and grow. The days would pass on and with every day she was sure that the memories along with the feelings she has for Lucas would fade. She had gotten over him once, she had faith that she could do it again.

Her eyes closed her head resting against the window the vision of his emerald eyes boring into her soul. There were plenty of people in green eyes in the world she imagined, but if she had to stare into hundreds of them, she would be able to pick out his in the crowd. They had traces of yellow flakes among the green that reminded her a field where her daydreams would consist of the two of them laying in the grass. She would let her fingers play with the grass around them as he would use a free hand to stroke her hair placing soft kisses on her forehead from time to time.

"Miss?" She jolted away being dragged from the sweet thoughts to the reality of the cab driver turning and looking at her for a form of payment. Her eyes glanced around to the familiar surroundings wondering how long she had let her mind wander. She stepped out of the car, paid the driver and grabbed her suitcase. It wasn't until she entered her apartment did the feeling of loneliness started to kick in and she started to wonder if she made a mistake.

* * *

Zay couldn't believe that he could wrap his arms around Casey as the two sat on the beach watching the waves come rolling in. He leaned in, the tip of his nose dragged across her cheek and then placed a kiss on the skin. Who knew that it all boiled down to one night of a party that changed everything. He could see them having a shot when they returned to their respected schools. There was a something that was on his mind from the moment that she said it that he couldn't shake. It almost seemed like she didn't have any concerns when it came to their future, almost too much so. He just witnessed his best friend and Riley ruin whatever they had from not communicating and was determine not to say the same for him.  
"So I have a question," he stopped as he felt his tongue dried inside his mouth. He didn't want to spoil the mood, but the question kept him up on some nights.

"What is it?" Her fingers started playing with his as their eyes connected in concern.

"You know how you said that you would let life take you where it would take you?" Casey nodded still unsure of where he was taking the course of the conversation.

"Where does that leave us?" It should have been a warning sign when she wormed her way out of his touch, but he decided whatever the outcome it was better that he knew now.

"I don't know," she confessed as she forced her eyes away from him her hands started playing with her hair, a habit that she did when she was nervous. "I just figured that we would come to that bridge when we get there."

He could saw that he was surprised at her answer, but he still felt the need to talk with her about their future. Who was to say that they would be in this stalemate 6 months from now because she didn't want to talk about it.

"Shouldn't we talk about it Case?"

"I don't see why we should, I was never into mapping out my whole future." she laughed thinking that his suggestion was a joke, but when his face didn't change it faded.

"Even if it's super important?"

"What is this about Zay?"

"I just witnessed my best friend and the love of his life not communicate and now they were not in speaking terms. I don't want us to end up like that."

"We won't, we aren't them Zay," her eyebrows narrowed with the slightest sense of frustration. Sure, the news about his friends was frustration but their story was different. "Look, Zay. I don't plan out things like that in my life, can you accept that?" Zay leaned back on his arms, her question running through his mind. Could he just accept that they wouldn't discuss the important things in life? She was important to him, his future life was important to him, how could they not talk about it when the most important part of relationship was communication?

"I don't know," he finally answered after a long pause.

* * *

Lucas hadn't moved from his spot outside, his eyes stuck on the horizon where he watched her car disappear in the distance. He didn't mean to drive her to the point of leaving; he wanted them to sit down and talk about everything from the future status of their relationship to how they were going to communicate in the future. The heart inside his chest had cracked when she leaned in and given him that kiss. It was almost like she was telling him goodbye, and he couldn't lose her again. She said she wanted space and now she was gone, what did that mean for them?

"Hey Huckleberry," Maya's voice broke through his thoughts, as her shoulder playfully brushed his. She knew how much that Riley meant to Lucas, so she could only imagine how he was feeling.

"I don't want to hear a told you so, Maya." This wasn't one of the times that he was in the mood to engage in another verbal sparring match with the blonde.

"Wasn't going to," she replied as she glanced at him quickly. The two fell to quiet as she played the role of the silent supportive friend.

"So," She popped her lips and her hands started fidgeting, uncomfortable with the lack of conversation. Usually she wasn't the silent friend in her friendship with Riley.

"What's your plan?" His brows furrowed as he finally took his eyes off where the driveway disappeared.

"What do you mean?"

"Your plan. All the good guys usually have a plan on how they go after the damsel and win her heart over." Maya shoved her hands in her pockets. They were never good at conversation, usually they ended up yelling at each other or arguing in some way.

"I don't have one." The shoulders shrugged down in almost defeat, and she knew that even though their bond wasn't as deep as strong as hers with Farkle or Riley, she knew in the moment that he needed her to push him.

"Can't believe I'm doing this," She muttered under her breath. "You have to go after her Lucas."

"She wanted her space," he spat, bitterness evident in his tone. He had given her exactly what she wanted and she still found a way to expose his weakness when it came to her.

"We both know that she didn't mean that," Maya knew that Lucas must have spent enough time to realize that Riley would give up what she wanted if it meant the best for the rest of the group.

"It always seems like you two are drawn to each other; even if she does move on to someone else, it won't last. It would be because of you, and she's going to break up with the next one because of you, and the guy after that. And she's going to keep doing it because for some odd reason you two are supposed to be together, even I can see that." Lucas blinked at her words; it was one of the nicest things that she had ever said to him. Maya usually made jokes at Lucas's expense when it came to relationship with Riley, but this made it sound that like she was giving her blessing.

"Thank Maya." His lips lifted into a smile, the first one for the day. He was grateful to have a friend like her in his corner if he ever needed one.

"Don't get a big head Ranger Rick, I don't do this all the time." She quipped pushing his arm playfully with her shoulder.

"Now go get Riley, she loves you."

* * *

It felt wrong how quiet the apartment was, since it had been home to so many memories over her college experience. She had convinced her parents to allow her to find housing outside of the campus (Mr. Matthews had assumed that less men had access to her house that way.) They visited every now and then so they felt that they could keep an eye on her. She reached for her phone and dialed a number that she had long memorized.

"Hello?" Just the sound brought a smile to her lips and comfort to her being, but then again, that's what parents were supposed to do.

"Hi Mom." She had to hold back any overwhelming feeling trying to flood her system. She had called to let them know that she was home and safe, not to discuss the highlights of the summer.

"Riley is everything ok?" Riley rolled her eyes at the unnecessary concern.

"Yes mom, I'm fine. I- I just got home and thought that I wanted to see if I could come over for dinner tonight." Whenever life seemed to trip her up, she always found solace at the bay window in her old room; even if Maya wasn't present it seemed to have the power to make everything clear to her.

"Of course, Sweetie." Topanga bit her lip trying to prevent herself from asking more questions of her daughter, but she was a Mother so she couldn't just let things go when she knew that something was wrong. Riley wasn't a little girl anymore, she had to believe that they had raised her well enough to make the right decisions.

"Ok, I'm just going to unpack and then I'll head over." She hung up the phone before tossing it on the couch. She didn't have any urge to empty her bag, so instead she headed to the shower hoping that the hot water would revitalize her and bring clarity to her mind.

The second that Riley knocked on the door she was suddenly embraced in her mother's arms. It was almost enough to make the brunette want to break down, but she wanted to be strong, just like her mother was for her. The gesture was paired with the smell of one of her favorite dinner wafting in her nose.

"Come on inside, dinner will ready soon."

"Where's Dad?"

"You know your father, when the food hits the table, he'll be there." The two exchanged a pair of giggles at Riley's father's antics. He was known for lifting to spirit in the home when hard times fell on the family. He was Topanga's support and not a day went by without her being grateful.

"If you don't mind I think I'm going to hang out at the window till dinner." Topanga's lips pressed together in a thin line at her daughter's request. There was something wrong with her daughter, she knew that she had several harder years, but it appeared like she was on the rise. She was fighting the voice of reason, but her motherly instinct overrode giving her daughter the privacy.

"Is everything ok Riley?" She watched for any sign of reaction from her words but her daughter remained stone-faced.

"Yes Mom, just...tired, that's all." The lie wasn't as convincing as she was hoping, but it was enough for her mother to let her go and her feet took her to the one spot that she had felt safe throughout high school all the way through today. Her hand grazed the wall before her knees gave way and she sat in the solitude. She didn't know what she expected, for her to come up with ideas on how to make everything right, or for it to become clear of what she wanted. Maybe that was the thought process that needed to stay in her past just like the other objects that brought her comfort in the past.

A knock caught her off guard and Topanga stuck her head in cautiously.

"Riley, you have a visitor." Riley's head tilted her head to the side in confusion as her mom stepped back to reveal Zay. There were a couple questions whirling in her mind, but the most predominant one was how did he find her? There were thousands of places she could have gone, but he knew that she would come here.

"Sorry, after all these years I still don't feel right climbing through the window." Her moth twisted up, after these years, he hadn't changed.

"Milk is in the fridge," she teased gently.

"I'm not here to eat your cereal." He took a step closer his body towering over her to the point where she had to look up at him.

"Then why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here Riley," he wasn't acting like his goofy self, he knew that this was too important for him to just to hide behind a comedy act. "I know why you left."

"If you did then you wouldn't have to confront me about the matter." She crossed the room past him, her eyes taking in the subtle differences in the room that her parents changed after she had moved out.

"You're scared." At his words her eyes closed, feeling weight of truth in his observation. She wondered how he could see right through her, it seemed like everyone could lately.

"You don't know that Zay."

"Yes, I do, because if you weren't afraid then you wouldn't have run away." He took a step towards her, watching as her body tightened under his statement.

"That boy would do anything for you, and you just left him because you were terrified at what an actual future with him would consist of. I can't stand by and watch my two friends make the biggest mistake of their life by just letting each other walk away. You two are soulmates- "

"Zay," she was becoming convinced that he had watched one too many chick flicks.

"You can always go back to your soulmate, that's what makes them your soul mate." She only considered for an instant how easy it was for them to click after their separation.

"Are you asking me to go back there and face him when he let me go without a fight?" She didn't see much of a point when their summer was drawing to a close. She had left and still felt like that was the right decision for her to make.

"You really gotta let that go, you basically told him not to follow you." He muttered tired of arguing that point; he knew that Lucas would do anything to for Riley. There were plenty of times where he had to bring himself to forgive Riley with certain cookie instances, one fight between the lovers shouldn't be too difficult to handle.

"And I don't want you to come back to house to talk to Lucas." Riley's eyes narrowed in confusion, wasn't that the reason he chased her down in the first place? If he wasn't there convincing her to go, then what did he want her to do? Zay took a couple steps back and knocked on the window and knocked. Her eyes jumped over to the glass to reveal Lucas standing on the fire escape. His eyes focused on the floor but jumped up to her brown ones when he realized that her vision was glued on him. It was almost like the first day at the house when he showed up at the door, there was so many mixed emotions flowing through her blood stream. The butterflies still acted up whenever she saw him, Lucas pushed up the bay window giving him access to her old room.

"I want you two to talk this out here." The two sets of eyes hadn't departed from one another, almost forgetting Zay's presence.

"Hi," his voice was soft and hesitant; he wasn't sure if she was still angry with him.

"Hey," She started nervously playing with her hair

"Hi." He finished the sequence stopping his steps just short of her.

"Well, I'll just get out of you kids' hair." Zay made an exit leaving the two alone to hash out whatever was on the table between them.

"Riley"-

"Lucas"- They started at the same time before they stopped Riley released a nervous giggle and Lucas sent his eyes to the floor trying not to distract himself with how much he missed her.

"Riley, we need to talk."

* * *

 **A.N.- Told you that I would get them to the point of figuring things out. Two more chapters left, and as this chapter is winding down, I have to say, I couldn't be more thankful that you all are along for the ride. Please let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17 What I Gave is Yours to Keep

**A.N.- I can't believe how fast this story is flying by. Welcome to last real chapter (minus an epilogue). This is such a bittersweet feeling, I have poured my blood sweat and tears into this story, sorry I didn't update sooner, I was focusing on getting this chapter up to standards, but I have a feeling you all will be pleased. This chapter is dedicated to all the people that have supported me through, I could not have done it without you.**

* * *

 **And you, maybe you'll remember me  
What I gave is yours to keep  
In white houses  
In White houses**

Her first instinct was to run. When it came to those words, in her experience nothing good came out of it, and the last thing she wanted was Lucas to break her heart. She wouldn't blame him if he did decide to end things, things were so much more complicated between them then when they had tried in high school; the little voice of doubt edged in. She pushed it down, Zay was right about something, they needed to talk things out. Her eyes flickered up to see his gaze was still on her. One of the things she was always jealous of is that she felt like he could always read her like she was his favorite book, but when she needed it most; she couldn't tell anything from his face.

He felt his pulse quicken and his words tie themselves into knots on his tongue when she looked up at him like that. He had spent the whole way working out the words in his head, and now he would be better off if he couldn't speak at all. He had already kicked himself mentally for not running after her, but he had let his anger take hold of him which made his choices fuzzy. He let out a breath trying to find something to say; he had never been good with the right words to say, especially to her, he was worried that he would screw things up with the brunette.

"I should have chased after you." His confession slipped out, not because he didn't love or care for her, but since he did. When he let her go, it was him allowing her out of his life again and that wasn't an option this time.

With each second with her eyes on him he felt himself grow more and more self-conscious, she didn't mean to make him feel this way, it was just a side effect for him caring deeply what he thought.

"Yes, I let my anger get the better of me, but I have told you long ago because the important conversations are what really matter and I felt like we weren't having those conversations." He tenderly reached for her hand as his thumb rested on top of her skin.

"I've tried to remember ever since fate has brought you back in my life why I ever let you go in the first place, and you know what?" He let out a sigh. "I can't remember." Riley's eyes cast to the floor suddenly interested with her shoes.

"I'm not quite sure either. It was a long time ago." The feel of Lucas stroking the back of her hand was clouding most of her thought; she was just focused on the forward and back motion like the ocean crashing onto the beach. She had blocked their break up in her mind for so many years, to recall any of those memories was fuzzy and hazy at best. "We wasted so much time."

"Isn't that enough to try again?" He urged not sure what he would do if she gave him anything but a yes.

"What if we don't work out, what happens then?"-

"I don't care Riley, I'm willing to take that risk because I'm in love with you Riley Matthews, and I don't think that will change any time soon."

"I love you too." The words flowed out so easily than she thought they would. She was sure that she had since she was in high school, and even though she couldn't admit it to herself on the first day that he had come back into her life, since then the feelings had only grown for the boy. Things could work out between them if they allowed communication, they had tried to be just friends and they were drawn back to each other time and time again.

"So, what does that mean for us now?"

"Well I was hoping that when I return back to my school, I could proudly say that I have the kindest, prettiest, loving girlfriend in the world," he left soft kisses on the back of her hand after every compliment.

His lips left her skin on fire with the contact, her knees were always seemed to be weak around him and his dashing smile. He might not have chased her initially, but it did mean everything to her that he would leave his vacation early to come after her. She knew that if she would let her insecurities rule over her and she would attempt to argue, she knew that she would just cave to him and her what her heart wanted. She just had to take the plunge with both feet in.

"I would like that." She smiled towards him. She couldn't deny that fate had brought them back together after so long, she would be a fool not to at least try.

Lucas's heart swelled with the answer; he just wanted to pick her up, spin her around, and kiss her senseless. His free hand slipped into his pocket until it reached what he desired. The fingertips brushed the velvet box bringing his lips further apart. The talk with her went better than he could possibly imagine, and now was a better time than any to put his plan into action. He was more nervous than when he initially told Riley that he had chosen her during the ski lodge trip, when it came to Riley, he would always feel like a boy with his first major crush.

"I think about us all the time." He confessed with a laugh as the two joined hands and sat together in the window. "Even before this trip, my mind wondered what you were up to, or whether you were happy." He grinned slightly at the some of the happiest memories of them together and her giggle as they ran through his head. "And you always see what I could be instead of what I am; you make me want to be a better person so I can be improve myself to become that man that you've always envisioned. Ever since in the night in the library you have influenced my life for the better, and I know sometimes we haven't been on the same page, but I know how I want our story to end." He slipped his hand and retrieved the object bringing it towards the light. He watched as her eyes widened maybe in slight fear, but he kept his cool.

"Riley Matthews," He tilted the box open to reveal a gold necklace with the words someday in the scripted font, "will you marry me, someday?"

Riley felt her breath hitch when she saw him bring out the red velvet box with all kinds of questions looming. Her first thought jumped to a wedding ring which both knew that it was too early for that, but Lucas had always been creative when it came to these kinds of things. Her eyes trailed up to his for a second before being captivated with the red case.

All the progress in their relationship was new, and for now she wanted to take things slowly and saw what happened, especially with the new puzzle piece of intimacy involved. It didn't deter her from where their story was heading, she had feelings for the boy since she was in sixth grade, they only deepened and expanded over the years.

When he tilted the box open, the word someday was written in cursive on a gold chain just lying in the box. It wasn't him proposing, it was more a promise that one day he would. Tears started to weld in her eyes as she slowly nodded her response. She watched as his eyes filled with joy wrapping his arms tightly around her in a hug because his lips connected with her in a manner that the love in him overflowed into the brunette.

"Yes," she whispered once more once she regained control over herself and picked up the necklace, turned around pushed her hair out the way so that Lucas could attach the clasp.

"Is that Maya's car?" She had just seen it out of the corner of her eye, but she had spent enough time in it to recognized it on sight. Lucas grew a smirk as he stepped out her bay window and offered his hand.

"Want to check it out?" She took his hand and the two slipped out the window.

* * *

Zay looked back after he crawled out the very window that his best friend had climbed through. it felt more nature to flee through that then the open door, it seemed polite not to disturb the Mr. and Mrs. When he looked back he saw Lucas and Riley talking and it caused the tips of the corners of his lips into a smile. They deserved to be happy together after all this time, they could have a future.

The thought made him think of Casey, and the disagreement that occurred; it made him wonder how much of a chance that they had. Sure, they didn't have the history that Lucas and Riley had, but every time he was around her she made him want to be a better person, and he couldn't just let that go. He felt that if he didn't talk to Casey about it that it would leave them exposed with different expectations of each other. He slipped out his phone and navigated till his thumb was hovering over her name and hesitated.

Their last conversation about their future didn't go well, and he was afraid if he pushed it they would have even more problems. He glanced once more back towards Lucas and Riley and hit the button to call. He knew that they were worth it, and if the lovebirds showed him anything it was that communication was the focal point of any relationship and he wouldn't have a healthy one if he held back how he felt when they brushed off the subject.

"Hello?" He froze, she had caller ID so there wasn't any turning back.

"Casey,"

"Is something wrong?" Concern laced her voice and he could just picture the way her eyes would widened and lips sink into a frown.  
"I just saw my best friend almost lose the girl that he loves because they weren't willing to communicate and I don't want that to happen to us." He could hear Casey excuse herself from whoever she was talking to and walk to a more private area.

"What are you talking about Zay?"

"A wise person once said that the most important part of any relationship is communicating, how do we have any chance if we don't talk about our future?" There was a silence on the other end that made him nervous. Usually Casey was an outspoken individual, so the quiet made him question his decision, but it was too late to go back.

"I want to see you on campus, and meet all of your friends, and go on dates. This isn't just a summer fling in it for me, I want something after we go back. I know it's scary for you because you don't plan that part of your life, but we can just try it, and if we don't feel comfortable with it then we can step back and take a look at it from there." When he was in high school, he never thought he would be the one fighting as hard as he was right now for a relationship, he was a natural romantic at heart, but it seemed like a plot to one of the Hallmark movies unfolding in his life.

"Are you asking to be my boyfriend Zay?" She didn't sound upset, so that was a good sign, but he rather they were doing this conversation face to face, but Lucas and Riley needed him.

"I guess I am." From that point on he was holding his breath till he got his answer. He put his heart on the line, made his intentions clear, but ultimately it was up to her. If she declined, then he didn't think that he would be able to keep seeing her, but he would find a way to move on somehow.

"Yes." He was so excited that his foot almost slipped off the fire escape. Things like this always happened to people like Lucas, not him.

"Great!" He coughed to adjust his voice back to normal. "I'll call you later, and clear your Friday because I am making plans for us." She giggled making his heart stop in place.

"Bye Zay." He pushed his phone back into his pocket and raced down the rest of the stairs until he made it to Farkle's car, until he saw Maya's car several feet in front of his and decided to create a little detour.

* * *

"I'm telling you it's going to be a full year." The genius leaned back resting his hands behind his head. Maya had let them take her car, she was sure if she didn't the cowboy would explode. The remaining two stayed behind and closed the house preparing it for the many months of loneliness before following behind in Farkle's car. Maya took the opportunity to slap his chest knocking the wind out of him and catching him by surprise.

"Don't get too cocky Farkle," She grinned her Cheshire smile "you don't have the imagine of the two of them making out burned into your memories. They'll get back together and be engaged within 8 months. Just you wait." She may have also tried to plant the idea in his head subtly after their talk. She had no doubt that Riley would take him back, because they were Lucas and Riley; one of the only books she knew by heart.

"Well I've done what I can, now it's just up to the lovebirds." Zay jumped into the back seat of the car.

"What did I miss, did you guys started to place your bets yet?" Maya's mouth formed a "O" shape as she put her hand on her chest in a feigned pain.

"Zay, I'm hurt that you think that I'm the kind of friend that would"- She stopped mid-sentence in response to the look that was currently plastered on her friend's face. "Farkle bets a year and I think it's going to be sooner, care to try your luck?" She would like to say it was the first time that they bet on their friend's happiness, but that would be a lie. The first time was when they were in high school, Maya had won the first one which added to her confidence of winning.

"You're both wrong, I have a feeling that they will take everything nice and slow. It will take him at least a year and a half to propose. They just got back into each other's lives."

"You're wrong Zay, Lucas isn't prone to sit back and wait."

"So, usual rules then, if you go over your time frame, it defaults to the next person, and if it goes over Zay's prediction we split all the money back." He paused for a second. "Any no cheating like last time Maya."

"Hey! I like to refer to it as creative strategy, you're just being a sore loser."

"Who's a sore loser?" All three heads snapped to the open car door window where Lucas and Riley popped into view. Despite her training of deception over the years the blonde found herself speechless, but that didn't stop her.

"Far-Farkle." She stuttered the name in a nervous manner not keen on telling the two that they were betting on their future. "He's sore loser that he had to drive the car home." It wasn't a convincing lie, for extra measure she nudged the genius in the gut to get a pitiful attempt of agreement. Lucas glanced at the brunette at his side for a second before turning it back to them not sure how much he believed them.

Maya's eyes were distracted by the shiny object that was attached around the brunette's neck and smiled. Whatever went on in her best friend's room Riley was happier than she had seen her for the last couple years, and even though they had their difference sometimes, it was enough to see how happy he made Riley. She made a note to ask her about the details of the conversation and what the necklace meant for the two of them.

Riley's hand squeezed Lucas's below the car window causing him to burst into a wider smile.

"Riley and I were going to around the corner to the ice cream shop, do you guys want to join?" He wasn't worried, he knew that Riley and his story had a long way to go and to make it they wouldn't just have to lean on each other, but the friends and family in their life.

"Only if you're buying!" Zay exclaimed from the backseat leaning forward with his head between the two blonde's seat. Farkle removed the keys from the ignition and Maya opened her door joining the couple outside followed shortly by the other two.

They began walking and Riley slipped one of her arms around Maya giving her a side hug in thanks that she kept pushing her even when she didn't want her to.

"Was that a yes?" Zay asked causing the group to erupt in a series of laughter and smirks. Riley laced her free hand into Lucas's and their fingers interlocked. Everything felt right, and even though the summer provided her with ups and downs the five of them would always be in her heart that, and white houses.

* * *

 **A.n.- There you go. The good news is you won't have to wait for the last chapter for two weeks, planning on updating that along with the next chapter of Shifting Tides hopefully soon. You are the greatest readers an author could ask for. Let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18 In White Houses

**A.N.- So here we are. I can't even begin to let you all know how much I am thankful for readers like you. Some of you helped me through the hardest times and know how much my muses put me through.**

* * *

 **In White Houses**

 **10 months later**

Riley slowly closed the zipper on her suitcase not believing that almost a year had flown by so quickly. They say that time flies when you are having fun, but it felt like a blink of an eye. She was thankful for a lot of things, her family, her friends, that she could pass her junior years of classes with only a few all-nighters crammed in, and her loving boyfriend.

Looking back at everything, she wondered why she was nervous in the first place, he was still old Lucas, as understanding as he always was; allowing her to set the pace, but knew the right places to nudge. They had other obstacles such as establishing the balance now with the new level of intimacy was introduced. It was harder than she thought, there were days and nights where she craved his touch and ignored the urge to call him.

A knock made her jump as her mind started to recreate those nights in her head. She turned to see Lucas sitting on her fire escape waiting to be let in. She pushed the window up as he struggled fitting through the smaller window with his larger frame dragging his suitcase behind. She had asked him why he still came through it when she lived on her own, he just smiled and told her that some traditions shouldn't be broken. She greeted him with a kiss, only to pull his suitcase next to hers.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked only to be greeted by a smile that she had reserved just for him. She started to tuck her hair behind her ear a habit that she hadn't grown out of since she was in middle school. He just stared at her for a second until she noticed his eyes on her.

"What?"

"You are so beautiful." As soon as the words left his mouth it caused her to get goosebumps all over her skin. The room was suddenly charged as their eyes did all the talking. Not being able to stand the quiet any more, it was Riley who broke the silence as she crashed her lips on his. Lucas responded quickly running his fingers through her hair adjusting Riley onto his lap. He used his tongue to push past her lips deepening the kiss as he started to explore her mouth. A moan escaped as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer allowing him even more access. She felt how she was affecting him beneath her lap; Riley reacted by adjusting her body where she was straddling the cowboy.

"You two are going to cause me to go to therapy, or at least fuel the need to rinse my eyes out with bleach." Lucas let out a breath in slight disappointment that they were interrupted as Riley stood up.

"Nice to see you too Maya," he reached his hand to grab the brunette's fingers. The girls hugged briefly in a greeting.

"It was nice of you to come see Riley off," she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the other suitcase. "Oh no, not going to happen." She pointed a finger between the two of them. "You two still owe me from the last time that you both spent time in my back seat. I walked in with you two swallowing each other's faces and I'm supposed to trust you two in the back seat unsupervised? Lucas you're drive so you can keep it in your pants till we get there." Riley's face was a bright shade of red with her mouth slightly agape.

"Maya!" She never meant for Maya to walk in on them, it was easy to get lost in the moment when it was just the couple.

Not another word was said on the matter, because Riley knew that the fiery blonde was right, and if she argued, she would just bring in specific examples; this wasn't the first time that she had walked in on a make out session. The three gathered their suitcases and made down to Maya's car which was waiting. Lucas opened the passenger door intending for his girlfriend to take the front seat with him, until Maya stole the spot. He tried his best to not let his face show his disappointment, but Maya's smirk told him all he needed to know. He opened the backseat for Riley which earned him a sympathy kiss on cheek. This trip was going to take longer than he thought.

* * *

Riley let her eyes drift out to the scenery passing by through the window. This summer would be different than the previous one, she was another year older and some would say wiser. Through more conversations with Farkle, she convinced Farkle to reach out Isadora and they mended their friendship. Things had gotten to a point where they wouldn't be able to rekindle their relationship in a romantic sense, but it wasn't as awkward with Isadora hanging out with the group. Due the distance between then due to different colleges, it was harder for her to keep in touch, but Riley tried the best she could. She had asked Farkle if Isadora had could come with them for the summer and without hesitation he agreed. Riley called her that afternoon and they talked for a little about life and school, accomplishments that they succeeded. Smackle had just made a breakthrough with a science experiment when it came to battling cancer that was starting to gain intention from people with money. When she invited the raven-haired girl, she could hear the excitement in her voice and knew that she was missing the six of them more than she let on, so Riley invited her to a coffee date so they could talk so they didn't have to wait till the beach house to talk.

It wasn't until that day that she learned everything she missed when she was trapped in the car with Lucas during the summer rain. Of Isadora confessing her feelings for the boy genius and him turning her down. The more she learned the more everything clicked into place like puzzle pieces. She learned of Theo and his history with Smackle and how he was now coming back around and she turned him down. Since Farkle had shut her down she was more involved with her work, but she seemed happier.

A ring came over the van as the blue tooth feature overpowered any noise coming from the blonde or the brunette. Zay's name popped onto the dash and it caused Lucas to smile as he answered.

"Hey Zay."

"How did I beat you two here? I was sure Casey and I would be the last ones here."

"We got a little distracted," Lucas replied. If Maya had always had trouble when it came to being on time, and yet she always seemed to have a alarm that went off in her head whenever he was within 3 feet of his girlfriend.

"Is that what you call it Huckleberry?" Maya interjected loudly causing the red to reappear on Riley's cheeks.

"Now, now, Maya, don't be so hard on the lovebirds; bitter doesn't suit you."

"I'm not bitter, I was going to win-" She stopped short realizing that she couldn't finish her sentence without blowing the bet out of the water.

"Tell Casey that she owes me the secret of those delicious cookies that she gave me," Riley cracked a smile at all the memories that she and Zay's new girlfriend had shared baking paired with movie marathons.

"Only if you share yours on how you get the cinnamon rolls so gooey every time," Casey's voice filtered through the noise. Casey had made a successful transition into becoming friends with everyone in the group. Lucas had never seen Zay so happy as he had with the year with that he spent with Casey. He dealt with phone calls where his best friend would just unknowingly gush about her, and wouldn't realize it till after a couple minutes. Not that Lucas could blame him, he had done the same about Riley multiple times.

"We'll be there in about thirty minutes, if traffic keeps this light." His green orbs flickered briefly to the gps.

"We'll see you here." He clicked off the phone leaving only the three of them in the car.

Maya's phone vibrated in her pocket, and at first, she tried to ignore it, but the second time she slipped it subtly out and glanced over to the screen.

 **Hello beautiful**

Maya smiled as the words brought warmth to her heart. Her fingers quickly typed a reply. It never failed to astound her that he could make her smile. He made her laugh louder, the colors seem brighter, and had done wonders for her art. She pushed herself to experiment new things, and she was incredibly grateful.

 **When do I get to see you? Do I have to sneak into your room tonight?**

She closed her eyes for a brief second and her mind exploded with thoughts of him and how he made her feel like home. It almost made her wonder if this was what Riley felt like with Lucas. She knew that he wasn't a place, but no matter where she was, if she was with him she felt safe.

She had spent many months finding herself and in the process the found out more about herself than she even would if she would have forced herself into something she wasn't ready for the previous year. She never imagined that things would unfold the way that they did, but life had a funny way of always looking after her. It started with him coming over when she was painting, at first, he would just sit there and watch her paint, which made her stomach flip flop. When he finally opened his mouth, she wished the silence would return, and ended in a massive paint war; she smiled at the memory. She was the one to kiss him quickly getting caught in the moment, but even past that day she still thought of it fondly.

From that day, they started talking more and hanging out, it got to the point where she would text a goodnight every night before she would close her eyes. Most of the time she would wake up with text greeting her to the new day, and it never failed to cause her to smile.

 **Are we going to tell Riley about us yet?**

Her lip was positioned between her teeth and she bit down in hesitation. Her eyes flickered over to her best friend for a brief second only to return to the prompted question. No one knew of her love life, and she wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. She knew Riley would be happy for her, but with that came change and she was never a fan of "the different".

"Maya, who you talking to?" Riley's voice caused her to freeze like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"No one," She texted back a "We'll talk later' before clicking off her phone. Her behavior only brought on more questions from her best friend.

Lucas's lips lifted at the corners just hearing the girls interact, as much crap as the fiery blonde gave him sometimes, she was a key ingredient to Riley's happiness; and a bunch of dorky nicknames was the price of that, then he had accepted it. They had their own moments too, ones that confirmed that he should keep Maya as a friend.

They had collectively decided to return to the forsaken house that had not only caused so much drama, but had brought them closer. He couldn't speak for the others, but house had brought him more good than harm; it had brought him Riley. It was their last summer they would have before their careers would own their life not just their summer breaks.

The car pulled into the driveway signaling the two chatty girls that they had arrived. Riley giggled and it caused his stomach to flip flop, it was one of his favorite sounds to hear her so happy that the joy couldn't be contained.

"So, Huckleberry, I have a doctor's note saying not to lift heavy objects," She waived a clearly forged note in front of his face, but was able to pull away before he could snatch it. "Think you could bring in my bag? Thanks!" She bolted out of the car door ignoring any shouts of discontentment. His eyes connected with the brown pools of his girlfriend's.

"If you need help," she started waiting to hear an answer, he knew that she was excited to see everyone and he couldn't deny her of that, so all she got in return was a quick kiss.

"I'll get all the bags, go say hi to everyone for me." Her face lit up all smiles.

"How did I get so lucky?"

"Trust me Riles, I'm the lucky one." The answer assured her enough to follow Maya's tracks into the house. He started pulling the suitcases out (when he got to Maya's he understood why she didn't want to do her own lifting) only to pause half way through. This year things would be different when it came to the house, he decided. He reached into his pocket that had been on fire since he had entered Riley's apartment this morning. He pulled out a small black box with precious cargo inside, he flipped it to reveal an engagement ring. He had gone ring shopping two months ago and with Maya's help was able to pick one out that Riley would love.

"I'll be the luckiest guy on earth," he muttered to himself his eyes locked on the shiny diamond. He would just have to find the perfect time to ask her, which might be a challenge with so many people inhabiting the house.

"Ranger Rick, aren't you supposed to be as strong as an ox? What's taking you so long?" Maya's voice snapped him back to reality from the daydreams of his future with the brunette.

"I'm coming Maya," he picked up his and Riley's luggage and started to walk towards the house meeting the blonde halfway. "Isn't that your luggage?" He teased brushing past her into the house. He knew that she would make him pay for that, but the summer was just beginning and he had a feeling that more secrets would get unearthed; in white houses.

* * *

 **A.N.- Yes, I am leaving it there, you can use your imagination. If you want another chapter I can update with all the changes that my muses changed in this story if you're interested. Or little previews of stories I'm working on. Let me know what you think, and I'm glad you enjoyed this story! Till next time.**


	19. Chapter 19 Behind the Scenes

**-Appreciation Letters to my readers- Behind the scenes**

 **Thank you for reading and going on this journey with me. I could tell you that you all were strapped in emotionally (based on your reviews). Some of you wanted the backstage access, so here it is. I don't think that this is all of them (I'm currently at the airport returning home from visiting one of my best friends.) Please read all of the changes below and then you'll see how much I had to deal with, but you all were patient. I'm going to try and get Shifting Tides and some of the one shots below written asap.**

***Changes*** old plot idea **new change**

-Zay wasn't going to have a happy ending _**Casey and Zay are in a healthy relationship**_

-Josh wasn't present after the party _ **Muses created this love triangle thing.**_

-Original Story was going to be markle _**Again, Triangle thing.**_

 *****A.N.- for those disappointed with how the story ended. I left it wide open for your interpretation. If Joshaya isn't together at the end of the story, that is based on your imagination, not mine. My muses came up with this triangle thing, and much like the writers, they had to figure a way out. If you want Josh to be the one sneaking into Maya's room it very well could be him sneaking in. (Don't forget he wasn't staying that far away in his roommate's house.) And if you want it to be Maya/Farkle ending, then picture it Markle. I tripled checked that paragraph was balanced so you could let your imaginations let loose.**

-Lucas originally slept with Veronica _ **He didn't sleep with her.**_

 ***-A.N.-Maybe my muses are just romantics, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Most of you are Joshaya OTP, but mine is Rucas all day every day. Since this change the reason Riley ran away towards the end of the story changed as well.**

-Rucas get together _**The someday necklace/almost proposal.**_

 ****A/N. – I'm only interjecting her too because of the reviews I got about Rucas using the someday. I stole it from Baby Daddy because it was an adorable idea and even if Rucas doesn't own someday, it would be something that Lucas would do. As for the proposal, I didn't want to be like most of the other stories in the fandom, so use your imagination, just know that she says yes. (Which means that Farkle won the bet ;)**

Smackle wasn't going to be showing up _ **Smackle shows up.**_

 ***A/N.- It wasn't that I didn't love Smackle, my muses surprised me with her and kind of threw me for a tailspin. It added an extra dynamic which I liked, so I decided to keep her. This also brought the drama for Smarkle which wasn't present.**

 **Stories Summaries Previews:**

 **-Black** -Rated M Rucas One shot- When the power in the neighborhood goes out, Riley and Lucas take advantage of the empty apartment. Fluff/Smut

 **-Shape of You** (working title)- Rated T/M Joshaya- When she walked into the building that night, she never knew who she was going to meet, but one thing was for sure the second their eyes interlocked and she felt her knees give way she knew she was in trouble.

-There will be another one shot that is long overdue for that's acting as a (extremely) late birthday gift for my friend Kayla. I don't want to spoil it, but It will be mature Rucas story.

 ******If you have any request for one shots or questions for me, PLEASE either leave it in a review or DM me. I'm very easy to talk to and would love to hear from you. (If you have an account I'll alert you before I post the story based on your suggestions. I'll probably won't be doing another long chapter story (I AM FINISHING SHIFTING TIDES), but I will be doing lots of one shots while also working on an original story idea (hoping to be published one day).*****


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